A Rare but Lethal Malignant Cardiac Mass

Abstract

Primary cardiac tumors are extremely rare. Incidence is approximately 0.017% of all primary tumors. Spindle cell sarcoma is the rarest, with only four cases reported and there are no guidelines for treating this condition. Cardiac sarcomas have symptoms by different mechanisms including obstruction, local invasion, and embolisms and in some cases the first manifestation could be a sudden cardiac death. Diagnosis is made with imaging techniques such as echocardiogram, cardiac computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and confirmed with tissue biopsy. Patients with malignant tumors have a poor prognosis with an average mean survival of 6 months. Complete resection of the tumor remains the best treatment available. Spindle cell sarcoma may present with few symptoms and may remain silent until an advanced stage, thus limiting the few therapeutic options available.




J Med Cases. 2016;7(11):498-501
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc2663w