[Aggressive growth of hemangiopericytoma in the area of the facial skull].

Hemangiopericytoma is a rare tumor that originates from the pericytes. Only histology permits a reliable diagnosis. There are no known parameters to predict the biological behavior of the tumor, so every hemangiopericytoma has to be treated as potentially malignant. No age or gender prevalence of this tumor in the region of the head neck has yet been observed. Hemangiopericytoma should be treated by radical surgery; chemotherapy or radiation should be reserved for incompletely removed or metastatic tumors. Metastasis and recurrences have been described even decades after first tumor treatment, so that all patients should undergo life-long follow-up. As an example for a fulminant course of a malignant hemangiopericytoma (G3) we present the case of a 24-year-old female patient who initially presented nonspecific symptoms, was diagnosed late, and eventually died of her tumor despite chemotherapy and surgical treatment.