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Multiple cutaneous infantile hemangiomas associated with hepatic angiosarcoma: case report and review of the literature.

Nord KM, Kandel J, Lefkowitch JH, Lobritto SJ, Morel KD, North PE, Garzon MC

Department of Dermatology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA.

Multiple cutaneous hemangiomas can be associated with internal hemangiomas, with the liver being the most common site. Here we report a case of a premature female neonate who presented with cardiac failure at birth and had typical-appearing infantile hemangiomas on the skin in association with vascular lesions in the liver. Her clinical presentation was felt to be consistent with cutaneous and hepatic infantile hemangiomas. After failure to respond to systemic steroids and chemotherapy, she underwent liver transplantation. Histopathologic evaluation of the liver revealed a diagnosis of type 2 infantile hepatic hemangioendothelioma (regarded as synonymous with angiosarcoma) rather than benign infantile hemangioma of the liver. Subsequent skin biopsies confirmed that her multiple cutaneous lesions were infantile hemangiomas and not metastatic angiosarcoma. We report this case and a review of the literature on pediatric angiosarcoma of the liver associated with cutaneous infantile hemangiomas.

Published 4 September 2006 in Pediatrics, 118(3): e907-13.
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