Coronary SurgeryThursday, October 15, 2026

Genomic and Transcriptomic Characterization of Angiosarcomas: Focus on Cardiac Origin.

1 min read·By E. Nolan Beckett, MD·Source: Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc

Key Numbers

55%

45%

36%

71.7% of angiosarcomas

From The Cardiac Wire

The coronary story today is physiology, not grafts.

Continuous thermodilution in 51 patients with anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery showed that the high-risk anatomic triad (intramural segment, acute take-off, slit-like ostium) produces measurably reduced hyperemic flow (179 vs 290 mL/min) and elevated microvascular resistance at rest and under stress.

Editor’s take pending for this article; this is the section commentary excerpt.

Source Abstract

Cardiac angiosarcoma is a rare and aggressive malignancy with limited therapeutic options, and its molecular features remain poorly defined. This study sought to characterize the genomic and transcriptomic landscape of cardiac angiosarcoma and to explore molecular features associated with clinical outcomes, chemotherapy response, and potential therapeutic vulnerabilities. We retrospectively analyzed 35 patients with cardiac angiosarcoma who underwent whole-exome sequencing (n = 11) and/or whole-transcriptome sequencing (n = 33). An additional 35 patients with angiosarcoma from noncardiac or unknown primary sites were included for comparative genomic analyses. Cardiac angiosarcoma frequently harbored alterations in KDR (55%), PLCG1 (45%), and CCND1 (36%), with recurrent amplifications at 8p23.1, 8p23.2, and 4q12 and recurrent deletions at 17q21.31, 15q13.2, 8p23.1, and 2q11.2. Transcriptomic analyses identified differential expression patterns associated with relapse, mortality, and chemotherapy response. Tumors from the low-relapse-risk group were enriched for axon guidance, whereas those from the high-relapse-risk group were enriched for cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Approximately one-third of patients exhibited high infiltration of most immune cell populations. Potentially actionable genomic alterations were identified in 71.7% of angiosarcomas. Compared with noncardiac angiosarcomas, cardiac tumors showed higher frequencies of KDR, CCND1, MCL1, and PLCG1 alterations and unique enrichment of the apelin signaling and vascular smooth muscle contraction pathways. Genomic and transcriptomic profiling of cardiac angiosarcoma revealed a distinct molecular landscape with candidate prognostic and therapeutic markers, providing a foundation for future precision oncology strategies in this rare disease.

Authors: Lu T, Liu Y, Yuan M, Chen R, Ma G et al.

Read the Original

Full article at Modern pathology : an official journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc

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The Cardiac Wire summarizes; we link out to primary sources for verification.