Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Jul 24;410(1):228.
doi: 10.1007/s00423-025-03817-2.

Cardiac tumors: clinical presentation, diagnosis, reatment, and results

Chonggang Wang  1 , Xiaoyang Li  2 , Lirui Yang  3 , Wenbin Zhang  4
Affiliations
Review

Cardiac tumors: clinical presentation, diagnosis, reatment, and results

Chonggang Wang et al. Langenbecks Arch Surg. .

Abstract

Cardiac tumors are a heterogeneous group of diseases that include primary and metastatic tumors. Among primary tumors, benign tumors account for the majority, and the incidence of malignant tumors is low. In contrast, the incidence of metastatic tumors is significantly higher than that of primary tumors. The clinical features of cardiac tumors are diverse, and symptoms vary depending on the tumor type. Therefore, the diagnosis method of cardiac tumors must adopt multi-modal detection methods to ensure the accuracy of diagnosis. Treatment of cardiac tumors mainly involves surgical resection of the primary tumor to ensure complete resection. For metastatic tumors, it is crucial to consider the primary tumor when surgically resecting metastases. Depending on the characteristics of the tumor, appropriate radiation therapy or chemotherapy can improve quality of life and extend survival.

Keywords: Cardiac oncology; Cardiac tumors; Metastatic cardiac tumors; Multimodal diagnosis; Primary cardiac tumors; Tumor management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Financial & competing interests disclosure: The authors confirm that they have no relevant affiliations or financial interests with any organization that could be perceived as having a financial stake or conflict related to the subject matter of this manuscript. Informed consent: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this manuscript and any accompanying images. Ethics declaration: Not applicable.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Transthoracic echocardiography (A and B) and transesophageal echocardiography 3D imaging (C) of right atrial myxoma
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Metastatic tumor invading the left and right ventricles (A) and right ventricles (B)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Poterucha TJ, Kochav J, O’Connor DS, Rosner GF (2019) Cardiac tumors: clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management. Curr Treat Options Oncol 20:66 - PubMed
    1. Cresti A, Chiavarelli M, Glauber M et al (2016) Incidence rate of primary cardiac tumors: a 14-year population study. J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown Md) 17:37–43 - PubMed
    1. Maleszewski JJ, Basso C, Bois MC et al (2022) The 2021 WHO classification of tumors of the heart. J Thorac Oncology: Official Publication Int Association Study Lung Cancer 17:510–518 - PubMed
    1. Tyebally S, Chen D, Bhattacharyya S et al (2020) Cardiac tumors: JACC cardiooncology state-of-the-art review. JACC CardioOncology 2:293–311 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Acebo E, Val-Bernal JF, Gómez-Román JJ, Revuelta JM (2003) Clinicopathologic study and DNA analysis of 37 cardiac myxomas: a 28-year experience. Chest 123:1379–1385 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources