Angiosarcoma of the heart: structural and ultrastructural study

Conclusion: The light microscopy observa- tion and immunohistochemical study under- score that is not easy to obtain information about the level of differentiation of this tumour. The presence of blood-filled lumina and the identification of typical markers of endothelial cells seems to indicate a well-differentiated na- ture. However, the ultrastructural findings seem to indicate a less differentiated nature. Abstract. - Background: Primary cardiac tumours are rare. Nearly 70% of primary cardiac tumours are benign, the majority of which are represented by myxomas. The most frequent primary cardiac neoplasm is the angiosarcoma that represents 31% of primary cardiac malig- nant. We report a particular clinical case of car- diac angiosarcoma, its light and transmission electron microscopic aspects and a review of the recent literature. Methods: A 52 years old man died for a se- vere right ventricle filling deficit caused by an intracavitary tumour originated from the right atrial anterolateral wall. The fragments obtained from autoptic tumoral cardiac tissue were processed for light and electron microscopy. The section were stained with haematoxilin- eosin, Masson trichromic and Gomori method. An immunohistochemical study for vimentin, Factor VIII related antigen and peroxidase-conju- gated lectin from Ulex Europaeus was also per- formed using the unlabed peroxidase-antiperox- idase method.