Current status of diagnosis and treatment of primary benign cardiac tumors in children

Abstract

Primary cardiac tumors in children are exceedingly rare overall, which benign account for most part. The onset of the disease is occult, while the clinical manifestations are non-specific-patients may be asymptomatic or show a range of obstructive, arrhythmic, embolic or systemic symptoms. The clinical presentations generally depend on the tumors' size, localization, and pace of growth of the tumor. Moreover, the diagnosis needs comprehensive judgment based on imaging results and pathological examination. With advances in cardiac imagining and the introduction of cardiopulmonary support, the diagnosis and treatment of these rare tumors have improved the prognosis and outlook for benign tumors. To sum up the above, we sought to integrate articles from recent years for the latest comprehensive review of the clinical manifestations, imaging characteristics, clinic pathologic features and treatment of benign cardiac tumors in children to provide a broader idea for pediatricians to recognize and treat such diseases.

Keywords: benign cardiac tumors; cardiovascular imaging (CV imaging); cardiovascular pathology; children; primary cardiac tumors.

FIGURE 1

Show typical locations of different subtypes of benign cardiac tumors. However, many heart tumors can occur in any chamber. LA, Left atrium; RA, Right atrium.