A trimodality approach in the management of metastatic low-grade epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the bone
A 29-year-old man presented with a 2-week history of severe pain in the left foot with no preceding history of trauma. A left foot radiograph demonstrated a cortical lucency in the mid-distal shaft of the third metatarsal bone. MRI of the left foot showed an expansile lesion in the same location. A staging bone scan showed a focal uptake in the known lucency in the left third metatarsal and in the proximal left femur. A subsequent left hip radiograph demonstrated a lucency in the intertrochanteric region. CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis was unremarkable. A biopsy of the left third metatarsal expansile lesion performed during an incision and curettage procedure revealed an epithelioid haemangioma (EHE) of the bone. MRI of the left hip performed in response to the findings on the bone scan showed metastatic disease in the left intertrochanteric region. A prophylactic left hip fixation surgery with an interlocking intramedullary femoral nail was therefore undertaken to avoid a pathological fracture of the left hip from the metastatic disease. Simultaneously, a left hip biopsy was performed, which also revealed an EHE. The patient underwent external beam radiation to the left femoral head and neck. This was followed by fractionated radiosurgery to the left third metatarsal. Once the left foot wound had healed, the patient subsequently received four cycles of doxorubicin and ifosfamide. A restaging positron emission tomography CT carried out after completion of therapy showed no metabolic evidence of residual primary tumour or metastasis. More than 2 years after completing his trimodality therapy, the patient remains fully functional and symptom free.