Primary hemangiosarcoma of the spleen with angioscintigraphic demonstration of metastases

A case of primary hemangiosarcoma of the spleen in a 48-year-old woman is presented. Twenty-eight months after splenectomy the patient developed a severe anemia of the microangiopathic type, thrombocytopenia, and a leukoerythroblastic peripheral blood picture. In contrast to x-ray and conventional 99mTc-methylene-diphosphonate (MDP) bone scintigraphy, which showed only a few minor focal changes in the spine and ribs, angioscintigraphy with in vitro labeled 99mTc-erythrocytes revealed extensive pathologic accumulations throughout the spine, femurs, and the liver, indicating the presence of extremely vascular metastases. Autopsy 15 months later confirmed the scintigraphic findings. Angiography with 99mTc-labeled erythrocytes seems to be useful for monitoring metastases from hemangiosarcomas.