Overall approaches to cardiac tumors:Still an unsolved enigma?

Cardiac tumors are neoplasms involving heart structures at any level,meaning the myocardium,valves,and cardiac chambers.When considering cardiac masses,it is not uncommon for surgeons to be surprised when they diagnose one.The real incidence of this complex group of diseases has been explored only after cardiac diagnostic tools became more appropriate.Despite differential diagnosis being relevant,surgical indication is usually requested for all malignant cardiac tumors and also for many types of benign tumors.The development of cardiac imaging techniques,therefore,has been the key point for a better understanding of the history of cardiac tumors and especially of the relevance of surgical indication in such conditions.Systematic and combined applications of echocardiography,cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance allow in the majority of case a clear definition of the nature of a newly discovered cardiac mass.The presence of a Li-Fraumeni syndrome seems to be the trigger aspect in accelerating the propensity of developing a cardiac tumor.Despite the revolutionary usefulness of the cardiac imaging techniques available,it is still considered a hazard to diagnose a malignant cardiac mass just with radiological imaging;the mainstay of the final diagnosis stands in surgical excision of the mass and histopathological report.

Primary Cardiac Tumors Operated on in Côte d’Ivoire: They Are Almost All Myxomas

Objective: Through this surgical series, we present the epidemiological and anatomical-clinical aspects and the surgical results concerning patients operated on for a primary cardiac tumor at the Abidjan Heart Institute. Materials and Method: This is a retrospective descriptive study covering the period of January 1982 to December 2022, based on the medical records of patients operated on for a primary cardiac tumor at the Abidjan Heart Institute. Results: Twenty-seven (27) patients underwent surgery for a primary cardiac tumor, including 14 women and 13 men with a mean age of 41.5 years (range 19 - 76 years). The main circumstances of discovery were exertional dyspnea, palpitation and syncope or pseudo-syncope. The main site was the septal wall of the left atrium. The diagnosis of myxoma was confirmed by pathological examination of the surgical specimen in 96.3% (n = 24) of the patients and it was a malignant large cell immunoblastic lymphoma of the myocardium in 3.7% (n = 1) of the patients. The mean largest diameter was 46.1 mm. The postoperative course was marked by an ischaemic stroke (n = 1);recurrence of a left atrial myxoma 5 years after the first tumor removal (n = 1). Two cases of death were noted, one due to the evolution of immunoblastic large cell lymphoma and the other due to an extracorporeal circulation accident. Conclusion: Almost all primary cardiac tumors operated on in Abidjan are myxomas. The circumstances of the discovery of these cardiac tumors are multiple and varied but dominated by exertional dyspnea, palpitation and syncope. Whatever their histological type, primary cardiac tumors are serious affections, in view of the haemodynamic and rhythmic disorders they cause.

Theatment strategies for pediatric patients with primary cardiac tumors

Objective To analyze the experience of treatment strategies for pediatric patients with primary cardiac tumors. Methods The clinical data of 27 patients with primary cardiac tumors which detected by echocardiography from May 1999 to May 2009 was analyzed retrospectively. There were 20 male and 7 female patients,aged from 24 d to 12. 6 years. There were 59. 2% less than 1 year old at the time of diagnosis. A single tumor were present in 22 cases and multiple in 5 cases. Surgery was performed on 22 patients due to the varied

Approach to cardiac masses: Thinking inside and outside the box

In this editorial we comment on the article by Huffaker et al,published in the current issue of the World Journal of Clinical Cases.Cardiac masses encompass a broad range of lesions,potentially involving any cardiac structure,and they can be either neoplastic or non-neoplastic.Primitive cardiac tumors are rare,while metastases and pseudotumors are relatively common.Cardiac masses frequently pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.Multimodality imaging is fundamental for differential diagnosis,treatment,and surgical planning.In particular cardiac magnetic resonance(CMR)is currently the gold standard for noninvasive tissue characterization.CMR allows evaluation of the relationship between the tumor and adjacent structures,detection of the degree of infiltration or expansion of the mass,and prediction of the possible malignancy of a mass with a high accuracy.Different flow charts of diagnostic work-up have been proposed,based on clinical,laboratory and imaging findings,with the aim of helping physicians approach the problem in a pragmatic way(“thinking inside the box”).However,the clinical complexity of cancer patients,in particular those with rare syndromes,requires a multidisciplinary approach and an open mind to go beyond flow charts and diagnostic algorithms,in other words the ability to“think outside the box”.

Tumors of the cardiac conduction system:are they an explanation for otherwise unexplained sudden cardiac death?

Cardiac tumors are well described in the literature. The first reports of cardiac tumors date back hundreds of years.The prevalence of primary cardiac tumors at autopsy ranges from 0.001% to 0.3% with secondary tumors more common than in primary tumors. ……

Primary Cardiac Lymphoma: Three Case Reports and a Review of the Literature

Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) is a rare entity that comprises only 1% - 2% of all cardiac tumors. Due to their scarcity and variable clinical presentation, early diagnosis is challenging. In this series, three cases of PCL from a single institution are described, which highlight the spectrum of presenting features and emphasize common principles. In the first case, a 73-year-old male who presented with dyspnea was found to have a 12.1 cm mass in the right ventricle. Biopsy via cardiac catheterization revealed diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). He was treated with chemoimmunotherapy and survived for two months. The second case describes a 55-year-old female who presented with chest pain. Imaging revealed a 3.1 cm right atrial mass and bilateral pleural effusions, with cytology from the latter demonstrating DLBCL. She was lost to follow up after three cycles of chemoimmunotherapy. In the last case, an 80-year-old female presented with weakness. A 4.0 cm mass was discovered in the right atrium and the patient expired shortly after admission. Autopsy confirmed the diagnosis of DLBCL. These case summaries are followed by a review of the clinical presentation, diagnostic approach, and treatment outcomes of PCL.

Six Years Clinical Experience and Surgical Considerations in Management of Cardiac Myxoma in Iraqi Center for Heart Disease—Single Center Experience

Background: Cardiac myxomas are the most frequently encountered benign cardiac tumors that if left untreated are inexorably progressive and potentially fatal. Surgery is the only way of treatment, and if not treated with the right surgical technique recurrence occurs. Objectives: In this single center study we documented the patterns of presentation, localization, surgical approaches and outcome of cardiac myxomas. Methods: This is a retrospective study of 20 patients who underwent surgical removal of atrial myxoma from January 2010 to December 2015. All patients underwent general investigations, and echocardiography was performed on all patients and surgery was done using extracorporeal circulation and mild hypothermia. Results: The ages of the patients ranged from 14 years to 71 years, with a mean of 51.45 years. Most myxomas (75%) originated from left atrium, 20% from right atrium and biatrial in 5% of cases. The male-to-female ratio was 1:2.3 (14 females and 6 males). Myxomas were more common in blood group A+ and B+. Chief complaints were dyspnea (70%) and palpitation (50%). The majority of masses were attached to the interatrial septum (65%) and four of cases (20%) arose from the lateral wall. Right atrial trans-septal incision was used in 55% of cases. No recurrence was recorded in our study. Six patients had postoperative complications, mainly in the form of arrhythmia (3 cases), bleeding (0ne case) and renal failure (one case) which resulted in the death of the patient. Conclusions: Cardiac myxoma excision account for a very small percentage of cardiac procedures. Immediate surgical treatment is indicated because of high risk of embolization and sudden death. Cardiac myxomas can be excised with a low rate of mortality and morbidity. Follow-up examination, including echocardiography, should be performed regularly.

THE CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL AND PROGNOSTIC STUDY ON 42 CASES WITH CARDIAC TUMOR

: Objective: To analyze the relation between the pathological changes and the clinical manifestations and the prognosis of cardiac tumors through the pathological study on 42 cases with cardiac tumor, in order to improve the knowledge of the tumors, to make early diagnosis and to raise the curative ratio.Materials and Methods: 42 confirmed cardiac tumors of our department were selected, among whick 41was surgical specimen and 1 was autopsy. The study was Pcrformed by using the common and special histochemical staining.Results: 41 is Primary and 1 is secondary which is a metastazed hepatocelular carcinoma. In the Primary ones,39 (95.1%) is benign, including myxoma, fibroma,rhabdomyoma and Pericardial cyst, while 2 (4. 9%) is malignant, including neuroleminafibrosarcoma and malignant mesothelioma. In the myxomas, female patients occupy 75%, 91.7% exists in the left atrium and every one has got a peduncle adbesive to the fossa ovalis or adjacency of the atrial septum.Conclusions: The results of the pathological and prognostic study sbowes cardiac tuinors are quite different from the tumors in other sites, i.e., cven benign ones could cause fatal hemodynamic disturbance. Hence early diagnosis and early operation are necessary and if in such instance, the Prognosis of inost of the benign oncs would be good. But the prognosis of the malignant tumors is worst. The myxomas are different from the organized thrombi in heart cavity. And also the criteria of diagnosis and differential diagnosis are discussed.

Cardiac metastases of gallbladder carcinoma

This report describes the case of a 68-year-old woman diagnosed with advanced gallbladder cancer, whose autopsy revealed multiple metastases, including cardiac metastases.

Mediastinal Tuberculoma Mimicking Malignant Cardiac Tumor:A Case Report

Background:The clinical manifestations of cardiac masses are diverse and lack specifi city.Here we report a cardiac mass detected by transthoracic echocardiography.Multimodality imaging and pathological fi ndings after the operation confi rmed the mass as mediastinal tuberculoma.Case presentation:A 45-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital reporting chest tightness,weight loss,and dyspnea for 3 months after exercise.Transthoracic echocardiography showed that there were a large number of pericardial effusions and a soft tissue mass measuring 7.7 cm×4.5 cm in the upper mediastinum,which oppressed the right pulmonary artery and accelerated the blood fl ow of the left pulmonary artery.Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography showed degenerative inhomogeneous high enhancement of and an unclear boundary in the mass.Contrast-enhanced chest CT revealed punctate and patchy calcifi cation in and uneven enhancement of the mass and the lymph nodes around the aortic arch.The mass was diagnosed as a malignant mediastinal tumor.Pathological analysis of the mass revealed chronic granulomatous tuberculosis.The symptoms abated signifi cantly after antituberculosis treatment.The patient remained asymptomatic during follow-up.Conclusion:This report presents a rare case of mediastinal tuberculoma mimicking a malignant cardiac tumor.Multimodality imaging should be incorporated for differentiation of cardiac masses.

A Rare Case of a Primary Cardiac Tumor Presenting as Fatal Ventricular Tachycardia

Primary cardiac tumors are extremely uncommon.Here,we report the case of a patient with a primary left ventricular interstitial tumor presenting with hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia.In response to hemodynamically unstable ventricular tachycardia,an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator was inserted.One month after defibrillator implantation,the patient developed episodes of high ventricular tachycardia that could not be effectively terminated by catheter radiofrequency ablation,thus further confirming that the ventricular tachycardia was induced by the left ventricular interstitial tumor.The patient is doing well on medical therapy to date.

Incidental right atrial mass in a patient with secondary pancreatic cancer: A case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND The incidental detection of a right atrial mass during routine cardioncological workup is a rare condition. The correct differential diagnosis between cancer and thrombi is challenging. A biopsy may not be feasible while diagnostic techniques and tools may not be available.CASE SUMMARY We report the case of a 59-year-old female patient with a history of breast cancer and current secondary metastatic pancreatic cancer. She developed deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and was admitted to the Outpatient Clinic of our Cardio-Oncology Unit for follow-up. Transthoracic echocardiogram incidentally found a right atrial mass. Clinical management was difficult due to the abrupt worsening of the patient’s clinical condition and the progressive severe thrombocytopenia. We suspected a thrombus, according to its echocardiographic appearance, the patient’s cancer history and recent venous thromboembolism. The patient was unable to adhere to low molecular weight heparin treatment. Due to worsening prognosis, palliative care was recommended. We also highlighted the distinguishing features between thrombi and tumors. We proposed a diagnostic flowchart to aid diagnostic decision making in the case of an incidental atrial mass.CONCLUSION This case report highlights the importance of cardioncological surveillance during anticancer treatments to detect cardiac masses.

Primary Left Atrial Intimal Sarcoma Disguised as Functional Mitral Stenosis: A Case Study

A 66-year-old female with a 1-month history of increasing fatigue, dyspnea on exertion, and palpitations presented with clinical signs of heart failure. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a large, mobile left atrial (LA) mass attached to the mitral valve causing severe mitral stenosis and mitral regurgitation. The mass was surgically debulked and the mitral valve was replaced. Pathology revealed a poorly differentiated malignant spindle cell neoplasm with diffuse nuclear positivity of MDM2 and multifocal positivity of CDK4, consistent with intimal sarcoma. This case seeks to describe an uncommon presentation of a rare malignancy, and the surgical and medical management of the disease.

Coinciding anomalous coronary artery and papillary fibroelastoma

The primary cardiac tumors are extremely rare tumors that arise from the normal cardiac tissues. There are benign variants （mostly myxoma） and malignant tumors. Fibroelastoma （FE） is the most common primary tumor, of which myxoma is the most common subtype followed by papillary fibroelastomas （PFE）.

Intravenous Leiomyomatosis with Right Heart Involvement—A Report of 4 Cases and Literature Review

Intravenous leiomyomatosis（IVL） is a rare benign neoplasm which originates from the smooth muscle cells and is usually confined to the pelvic venous system.Rarely,intracaval and intracardiac extension has been described.Death can occur as a result of intracardiac involvement.We reported 4 cases of IVL with right heart involvement（intracardiac leiomyomatosis,ICL）.Three of them suffered recurrent sudden syncope,and the other one was totally asymptomatic.All of them were successfully treated through one-stage operation under extracorporeal circulation.

Multiple left ventricular myxomas combined with severe rheumatic valvular lesions: A case report

BACKGROUND Primary cardiac tumors are uncommon,of which cardiac myxoma accounts for 50%-80%.Left ventricular myxoma has been rarely reported,accounting for only 3%-4%of all cardiac myxomas.Multiple left ventricular myxomas are,relatively,even rarer.CASE SUMMARY In this report,we present a case of multiple left ventricular myxomas combined with severe rheumatic valve lesions.Symptomatically,the patient presented with fatigue,shortness of breath,and palpitation after activities.The patient underwent complete surgical resection of multiple left ventricular myxomas combined with mechanical replacement of the mitral and aortic valves,tricuspid valvuloplasty.The patient recovered well after the operation,with no obvious related complications.CONCLUSION Multiple left ventricular myxomas may coexist with severe rheumatic valve disease.Operation is an effective treatment.

Primary biliary cirrhosis after aortoiliac reconstruction surgery using a Y-graft: A case report

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an autoimmune disease characterized by anti-mitochondrial antibodies and destruction of intra-hepatic bile ducts. Though little is known about the etiology of PBC, some reports suggest that xenobiotics and viral infections may induce PBC. We describe a case of PBC after the aortoiliac reconstruction surgery using a Y-graft.

Incidental discovery of right ventricular lipoma in a young female associated with ventricular hyperexcitability: An imaging multimodality approach

BACKGROUND Cardiac lipomas are rare benign tumors commonly found in the right atrium or left ventricle.Patients are usually asymptomatic,and clinical presentation depends on location and adjacent structures impairment.Right ventricle lipomas are scarce in the literature.Moreover,the previous published cases were reported in over 18-year-old patients.CASE SUMMARY We report a giant right ventricle lipoma discovered incidentally in a 17-year-old female while performing preoperative work-up.The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination,and a conservative approach was performed.CONCLUSION Multimodal cardiac imaging and histopathological examination are required for a definitive diagnosis.The therapeutic approach depends on clinical presentation.

Current diagnosis and management of cardiac melanoma: a case series and review

Malignant melanoma is believed to have the highest rate of cardiac metastasis of any cancer based on autopsy studies,but descriptions of clinical findings,diagnosis,and treatment remain lacking.In particular,the use of immunotherapy has been only sparingly described.We present eight cases of malignant melanoma treated at our institution.Four patients displayed symptoms,three were diagnosed on routine surveillance imaging,and one was diagnosed postmortem.Locations of cardiac tumors varied with all four chambers and septum involved between the cases.Six patients underwent genetic profiling:two patients had a CDKN2A variant detected in their cardiac tumor,one patient had a BRAF mutation,and one patient had an NRAS mutation.Six patients underwent immunotherapy with either anti-PD-1 and/or anti-CTLA-4 therapy.This report highlights the importance of considering cardiac melanoma in surveillance imaging and the use of immunotherapy for management.

Surgical Treatment of Large Left Ventricular Fibroma in Children

Primary cardiac tumors are rare in children,with the prevalence of 0.0017-0.28% in autopsy series.[1] Benign tumors account for over 90% of the total.Cardiac fibromas （CFs） represent the second most common benign cardiac tumor in the pediatric population following rhabdomyomas.Patients can be asymptomatic or present with palpitations,cardiac murmur,arrhythmias,congestive heart failure,and even sudden death according to the size and location of the tumor.Surgical resection should be considered as the best option in symptomatic patients.[2,3] This study reported four surgical cases of large left ventricular fibroma in children.