Fine needle aspiration of metastatic epithelioid angiosarcoma: a report of 2 cases.

Background: Epithelioid angiosarcomas (EAs) are uncommon mesenchymal tumors occurring in the thyroid, deep-seated soft tissues, parenchymal organs and, more rarely, superficial soft tissues of the head and neck. Due to their cytologic and immunocytochemical presentation on fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) samples, these neoplasms may closely mimic a number of different tumors, potentially causing an erroneous cytopathologic diagnosis unless immunophenotypical markers of vascular differentiation are sought in the cellular material.

Cases: A 68-year-old man with a 1-year history of total thyroidectomy for EA presented with a suspicious right neck node and underwent FNA.

Docetaxel plus epidoxorubicin as neoadjuvant treatment in patients with large operable or locally advanced carcinoma of the breast: a single-center, phase II study.

Background: The objective of this study was to test the activity and toxicity of epirubicin plus docetaxel as primary chemotherapy for women with large, operable (T2; > 3 cm) or locally advanced (Stage III) breast carcinoma, including patients with inflammatory breast carcinoma.

Methods: In this single-center, open-label, single-stage, Phase II trial, epirubicin (75 mg/m(2); intravenous bolus) followed by docetaxel (80 mg/m(2); 1-hour intravenous infusion) was administered on Day 1 of each cycle for four cycles.

Results: Nine of 30 patients (30%) had inflammatory breast carcinoma.