Outcome and Pathological Characteristics of Primary Malignant Cardiac Tumors

Abstract

The literature on malignant cardiac tumors is relatively limited because they are rare, especially among the Chinese population. We analyzed 14 patients diagnosed with malignant cardiac tumors in Fuwai Hospital and present the results of surgical treatments on the tumors. The mean age at tumor diagnosis was 47 years in a male-dominated cohort. There was a high frequency of pericardial effusion and coronary artery involvement in our group. We compared the survival times of patients who received different treatments and found that surgery improved prognosis of tumors, especially for patients who underwent orthotopic heart transplantation.

Primary Cardiac Angiosarcoma

“…Similar to previously reported cases, the patient described in this case presented with severe pericardial effusion and features of severe pneumonia. 6) In this case, the patient first presented with severe diffuse bilateral pulmonary exudative infiltrates, and pericardial effusion was thought to be secondary to severe pneumonia in a young patient as opposed to a rarer underlying cardiac tumor. Cardiac angiosarcoma is very likely to be misdiagnosed as pneumonia, because of the rarity of the disease and its nonspecific clinical manifestations, 7) including dyspnea, chest pain, and anemia, as well as due to the size of the tumor and its anatomical position.…”