Retiform hemangioendothelioma of the breast in a man with 18F-flurodeoxyglucose accumulation on positron emission tomography: a case report

Kaoru Ogura; Yoko Shibasaki; Satoshi Honda; Hidetaka Akita; Nobuhiko Aoki; Ja-Mun Chong; Toru Motoi

doi:10.1186/s40792-023-01633-8

Retiform hemangioendothelioma of the breast in a man with ¹⁸F-flurodeoxyglucose accumulation on positron emission tomography: a case report

Surg Case Rep. 2023 Apr 7;9(1):53. doi: 10.1186/s40792-023-01633-8.

Authors

Kaoru Ogura¹, Yoko Shibasaki², Satoshi Honda³, Hidetaka Akita², Nobuhiko Aoki⁴, Ja-Mun Chong², Toru Motoi⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Breast Surgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Toshima Hospital, 33-1 Sakae-Cho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan. kdomoto@hotmail.com.
² Department of Pathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Toshima Hospital, 33-1 Sakae-Cho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan.
³ Department of Radiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Toshima Hospital, 33-1 Sakae-Cho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan.
⁴ Department of Breast Surgery, Tokyo Metropolitan Toshima Hospital, 33-1 Sakae-Cho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-0015, Japan.
⁵ Department of Pathology, Tokyo Metropolitan Cancer and Infectious Diseases Center, Komagome Hospital, 3-18-22 Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8677, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Retiform hemangioendothelioma (RH) is a rare, intermediate-grade vascular tumor that often arises in the trunk and extremities. The clinical and radiological features of RH remain largely unknown.

Case presentation: A male patient in his 70s presented with shortness of breath on exertion, and computed tomography incidentally revealed a tumor in his right breast. Positron emission tomography (PET) revealed moderate ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in the tumor. RH was observed in the resected specimens. Three months after surgery, the patient was free of local recurrence and distant metastasis.

Conclusions: RH was found in the male breast and was accompanied by FDG uptake on PET. PET may be useful in diagnosing RH. Although metastasis is rare in RH, local recurrence may occur, and careful follow-up is required.

Keywords: Angiosarcoma; Breast; Magnetic resonance imaging; Male; Positron emission tomography; Retiform hemangioendothelioma.