Apatinib for treatment of locally advanced rectal angiosarcoma : a case report

Abstract EN

Introduction: Primary colorectal angiosarcoma is a highly rare malignant tumor.

There is no standard treatment method for this disease.

No treatment of rectal angiosarcoma with apatinib has been reported so far.

Case Presentation: In the current study, an 87-year-old male presented with the symptoms of frequent defecation for more than one month in Hangzhou, China, in 2018.

The patient was initially diagnosed with a rectal stromal tumor.

The patient underwent ultrasound-guided transrectal mass puncture in the next treatment.

However, immunohistochemical examinations confirmed the initial diagnosis of rectal angiosarcoma.

The patient had advanced age and rectal angiosarcoma with metastasis; he had no surgical indications, and we tried to use apatinib 250 mg/d treatment to control the progression of the lesion.

Then, he received apatinib, a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2).

The patient has been stable to apatinib with a dose of 250 mg daily by now.

Conclusions: Apatinib may play an important role in the treatment of unresectable angiosarcoma.