There are a lot of different blood vessel tumors. This is just a quick overview of three tumors: Kaposi sarcoma, hemangioma, and angiosarcoma. Kaposi sarcoma
Kaposi sarcoma is a malignant vascular tumor that is linked with an infection of the human herpesvirus 8 (otherwise known as HHV-8). It is a cancer of the blood vessel endothelial cells. This virus is thought to get inside of the cells, and cause the cells to replicate uncontrollably. This type of cancer is seen in people who have suppressed immune systems. That’s why it’s one of the common diseases 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 read lesions. The lesions looks very similar to a bruise however unlike a bruise, if you were to press on the discoloured area, the lesion would blanch. That’s because the lesion is blood filled blood vessels whereas bruises are caused by blood leaking outside of blood vessels into the skin. Initially the lesions start off flat, but over time they may become raised and more painful. In people who have a compromised immune systems, the disease can also cause lesions in other tissues like the mouth, nose, throat, lymph nodes, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract. You can sometimes treat affected skin by surgically removing it or freezing it using cryotherapy, however treating the disease in immunocompromised patients is more difficult. If someone’s immune system is compromised because of drugs such as corticosteroids, the best treatment option might be to adjust immunosuppressants and allow the immune system to recover. It’s much harder to treat the disease in an AIDS patient whose immune system is severely compromised, so antiretroviral therapy is commonly used by patients to restore immunity. Radiation and chemotherapy are also treatment options. Hemangioma
Hemangioma is a benign vascular tumor of the endothelial cells of blood vessels. Too much endothelial cell growth typically leads to a messy clump of blood vessels, all filled with blood, similar to Kaposi sarcoma. The tumor is usually found on the skin, but can happen pretty much anywhere. It looks a lot like a birthmark that is raised above the skin, rubbery, and bright red. Just like in Kaposi sarcoma, the purpura on the skin will blanch. This tumor is sometimes seen in newborns but will usually disappear as they get older. In fact, they sometimes start out small, but then grow larger before finally shrinking by the first year of life. About half of them disappear completely before age 5, and the rest usually disappear before the teenage years. Sometimes steroids or even beta blockers are used to help these regress, and in only rare situations is surgery needed. When it’s clear that a tumor will regress on it’s own, removing the tumor surgically can sometimes cause more permanent scarring than if it is left alone. Angiosarcoma
If you’re a dog owner, you might have heard of angiosarcoma. Angiosarcoma is a malignant cancer again involving the endothelial lining of the blood vessels and is fairly common in large dogs (less common in humans, but enough to still be aware of). It’s really aggressive and can affect the blood vessels in the liver. People who are frequently exposed to vinyl chloride monomer gas in PVC manufacturing are at risk of developing this disease, along with people who are exposed to arsenic insecticides and thorotrast which was a radio contrasting agent used in medical radiography back in the 1930s and 40s.