[Primary cardiac neoplasms: a clinicopathologic analysis of 81 cases]

To study the disease spectrum, clinical and pathologic features of primary cardiac neoplasms at a single medical institution during a period of eight years.

The clinical and pathologic features of 81 cases of primary cardiac neoplasms encountered at the Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Qingdao University from January, 2004 to December, 2011, either for cardiovascular surgery or as pathology consultation cases, were retrospectively reviewed. Immunohistochemical study was carried out in selected examples.

Amongst the 81 cases studied, 73 cases (90.1%) were benign and 8 cases (9.9%) were malignant. Cardiac myxomas accounted for 97.3% (71/73) of all the benign cases. Six of the 8 malignant cases represented soft tissue sarcomas. The commonest presenting symptom was dyspnea. The histologic subtypes included myxoma (number = 71), angiosarcoma (number = 2), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (number = 2), hemangioma (number = 1), liposarcoma (number = 1), lymphoma (number = 1), myxofibrosarcoma (number = 1) and papillary fibroelastoma (number = 1).

While the majority of primary cardiac neoplasms are myxomas, other tumor types do exist. Accurate histologic diagnosis and timely surgery are crucial in patient management.