Dr. Wagner on Diagnosing Angiosarcoma

Michael J. Wagner, MD, assistant professor, University of Washington School of Medicine and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses the challenge of diagnosing angiosarcoma.

Even as a specialist working in a referral center, Wagner only sees 15 to 20 patients with angiosarcoma in a given year. Diagnosing angiosarcoma is challenging because it can appear in almost every system in the body and the disease often looks like many other conditions.

Wagner says angiosarcoma can present as a bruise that does not go away or a purple lesion on the skin or scalp. Some patients experience pain at the site of the disease or, if angiosarcoma arises in the lungs, they may experience shortness of breath or cough.