Epithelioid Angiosarcoma of the Popliteal Artery- Primary or Secondary? A Rare Disease Entity Difficult to Diagnose and Easily Overlooked-Literature Research and Case report.

INTRODUCTION: The popliteal artery is a common site of aneurysm formation, whereas sarcomas of the vascular system are very rare. The diagnosis is very difficult to establish. During our literature research we found only seven reports about angiosarcomas of the popliteal artery. Four of them were associated with aneurysms. Because of the poor prognosis early diagnosis is the key to successful treatment. REPORT: We present a well-documented case of an 83-year-old patient with an angiosarcoma of the popliteal artery diagnosed as a popliteal artery aneurysm at first. CONCLUSION: It is important to think of this rare, highly aggressive tumor entity. Especially the aneurysms that need revision surgery should cause suspicion- histological samples from the aneurysm wall should always be taken.