Cardiac Tumors

There are many different primary cardiac tumors the vast majority of which are benign. The most common malignant cardiac tumor is the angiosarcoma. Cardiac tumors are summarized below:

Multiple different malignancies can metastasize to the heart either directly or hematogenously. These include lung cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma, colon cancer, and melanoma. Renal cell carcinoma can invade into inferior vena cava, right atrium and right ventricle. The echocardiographic appearance of this can mimic that of thrombus. Carcinoid tumors, when metastatic to the liver, can cause right heart valvular disease most commonly tricuspid valve stenosis. When a carcinoid tumor is metastatic to the lungs, the left-sided heart valves can be involved (since the toxins secreted by the tumor are normally filtered by the lungs).