Apatinib for Treatment of Locally Advanced Rectal Angiosarcoma: A Case Report

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.

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.

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