Leukemia (Blood Cancer)

 Vascular tumors are tumors of the blood vessels and there are actually a lot of different types so this is just a quick overview of three types of tumors! Kaposi Sarcoma, Hemangiomas and Angiosarcomas.

Kaposi sarcoma is a malignant vascular tumor that's linked with an infection of the human herpes virus 8 otherwise known as hhv-8 and it's a cancer of the blood vessel endothelial cells. This virus is thought to get inside the cells and cause the cells to replicate uncontrollably. This type of cancer is seen in a person who has suppressed immune systems and that’s why it's one of the common diseases that you're at risk of getting. If you have aids and is a complication of organ transplant, patients the most common symptoms of Kaposi sarcoma affect the skin causing purple and red lesions, these lesions look somewhat like a bruise but unlike a bruise, they don't blanch or turn pale when pressed that's because a Kaposi sarcoma has blood-filled blood vessels whereas bruises are caused by blood leaking outside of blood vessels into the skin.

Initially, these lesions start off flat but over time they might become raised and more painful in people who have a compromised immune system the disease can cause lesions in other tissues like the mouth, the nose, the throat, the lymph nodes, the lungs, and the gastrointestinal tract, you can sometimes treat affected skin by surgically removing it or freezing it off using cryotherapy but treating the disease in immune-compromised patients is a little more difficult if someone's immune system is compromised because of drugs like corticosteroids, it might be necessary to adjust immune-suppressants and allow the immune system to recover it's a lot harder to treat the disease. In an aids patient whose immune system is severely compromised so anti-retroviral therapy is commonly used by patients to restore immunity radiation and chemotherapy are also treatment options.

Hemangiomas are the next type and these are benign vascular tumors of the endothelial cells of the blood vessels too much endothelial cell growth typically leads to a messy clump of blood vessels all filled with blood similar to a Kaposi sarcoma except these are benign. These tumors are usually found in the skin but can happen pretty much anywhere, these look like birthmarks and can be raised above the skin rubbery and range in color from dark purple to bright red this tumor is sometimes seen in newborns, but will usually disappear as they get older, in fact, they sometimes start out small then grow larger before finally shrinking by the first year of life, about half of them disappear completely before age five and the rest usually disappear before the teenage years, sometimes steroids or even beta blockers are used to help these regress and only in rare situations is surgery needed, when it's clear that a tumor will regress on its own removing the tumor surgically can sometimes cause more permanent scarring than if it's left alone, also there are a couple different types of hemangiomas.

Pyogenic granulomas sometimes called eruptive hemangiomas or pregnancy tumors look like an overgrowth of tissue and appear most often on the face and hands but can also happen in other places this type often bleeds and can be removed by cautery. Capillary hemangiomas sometimes called strawberry hemangiomas are the most common type and are raised in lumpy kind of like a strawberry I guess and these usually subside by age 10. Finally, cavernous hemangiomas are similar to capillary hemangiomas except that they're typically deeper and they can disappear on their own but sometimes might need surgical removal.

Alright if you're a dog owner you might have heard of Angiosarcoma. Angiosarcoma is malignant cancer just like Kaposi sarcoma and again involves the endothelial lining of the blood vessels and is fairly common in large dogs. It's less common in humans but enough to still be aware of Angiosarcomas are really aggressive and can affect the blood vessels in the liver, people who are frequently exposed to vinyl chloride, and monomer gas in PVC manufacturing: are at risk of developing the disease along with people who are exposed to arsenic insecticides and thorotrast which is a radiocontrast used during imaging procedures back in the 1930s and 40s.

Thank you.