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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Matthew P. Soape, Rashmi Verma, J. Drew Payne, Mitchell Wachtel, Fred Hardwicke, Everardo Cobos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Gastrointestinal Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/326795
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849409077389557760
author Matthew P. Soape
Rashmi Verma
J. Drew Payne
Mitchell Wachtel
Fred Hardwicke
Everardo Cobos
author_facet Matthew P. Soape
Rashmi Verma
J. Drew Payne
Mitchell Wachtel
Fred Hardwicke
Everardo Cobos
author_sort Matthew P. Soape
collection DOAJ
description 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.
format Article
id doaj-art-779d2ba851a84f5cb3234a1f476d92d4
institution Kabale University
issn 2090-6528
2090-6536
language English
publishDate 2015-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Case Reports in Gastrointestinal Medicine
spelling doaj-art-779d2ba851a84f5cb3234a1f476d92d42025-08-20T03:35:37ZengWileyCase Reports in Gastrointestinal Medicine2090-65282090-65362015-01-01201510.1155/2015/326795326795Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of MedicineMatthew P. Soape0Rashmi Verma1J. Drew Payne2Mitchell Wachtel3Fred Hardwicke4Everardo Cobos5Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, TX 79430, USATexas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, TX 79430, USATexas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, TX 79430, USATexas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, TX 79430, USATexas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, TX 79430, USATexas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th Street, Lubbock, TX 79430, USAHepatic 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.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/326795
spellingShingle Matthew P. Soape
Rashmi Verma
J. Drew Payne
Mitchell Wachtel
Fred Hardwicke
Everardo Cobos
Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of Medicine
Case Reports in Gastrointestinal Medicine
title Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of Medicine
title_full Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of Medicine
title_fullStr Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of Medicine
title_full_unstemmed Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of Medicine
title_short Treatment of Hepatic Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma: Finding Uses for Thalidomide in a New Era of Medicine
title_sort treatment of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma finding uses for thalidomide in a new era of medicine
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/326795
work_keys_str_mv AT matthewpsoape treatmentofhepaticepithelioidhemangioendotheliomafindingusesforthalidomideinaneweraofmedicine
AT rashmiverma treatmentofhepaticepithelioidhemangioendotheliomafindingusesforthalidomideinaneweraofmedicine
AT jdrewpayne treatmentofhepaticepithelioidhemangioendotheliomafindingusesforthalidomideinaneweraofmedicine
AT mitchellwachtel treatmentofhepaticepithelioidhemangioendotheliomafindingusesforthalidomideinaneweraofmedicine
AT fredhardwicke treatmentofhepaticepithelioidhemangioendotheliomafindingusesforthalidomideinaneweraofmedicine
AT everardocobos treatmentofhepaticepithelioidhemangioendotheliomafindingusesforthalidomideinaneweraofmedicine