Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of Medicine

Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEH) is extremely rare, occurring in 1 to 2 per 100,000, with chemotherapy options not well defined. Our case involved a 49-year-old female who had hepatic masses and metastasis to the lungs with a liver biopsy revealing HEH. After developing a rash from sor...

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Published inCase reports in gastrointestinal medicine Vol. 2015; no. 2015; pp. 1 - 4
Main Authors Hardwicke, Fred, Wachtel, Mitchell, Payne, Drew, Verma, Rashmi, Soape, Matthew P., Cobos, E.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01.01.2015
Hindawi Limited
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Summary:Hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEH) is extremely rare, occurring in 1 to 2 per 100,000, with chemotherapy options not well defined. Our case involved a 49-year-old female who had hepatic masses and metastasis to the lungs with a liver biopsy revealing HEH. After developing a rash from sorafenib, thalidomide was started with the progression of disease stabilized. Resection is only an option in 10% of the cases; therefore, chemotherapy is the only line of treatment. Newer chemotherapy alternatives are targeting angiogenesis via the vascular endothelial growth factor. Thalidomide was first used as an antiemetic, but, sadly, soon linked to phocomelia birth defects. Given the mechanism of action against angiogenesis, thalidomide has a valid role in vascular tumors. In conclusion, the use of thalidomide as chemotherapy is novel and promising, especially in the setting of a rare vascular liver tumor such as HEH.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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Academic Editor: Gregory Kouraklis
ISSN:2090-6528
2090-6536
DOI:10.1155/2015/326795