Right Ventricular Metastasis From Rectal Cancer Recurrence

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Oncology
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Cardiac metastases from colorectal cancer are rare and present diagnostic challenges.
• Diagnosis is particularly difficult when there is no widespread metastatic disease.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a rare case of cardiac metastasis from colorectal cancer.
• To highlight the diagnostic utility of multimodality imaging and endomyocardial biopsy.

Main Methods:

• A patient with a history of rectal adenocarcinoma presented with elevated carcinoembryonic antigen levels.
• Multimodality imaging, including cardiac magnetic resonance, identified a right ventricular mass.
• Endomyocardial biopsy guided by intracardiac echocardiography confirmed metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Main Results:

• A 55-year-old man with treated rectal adenocarcinoma developed a right ventricular mass.
• Cardiac magnetic resonance showed a large lesion with specific characteristics.
• Biopsy confirmed metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma as the cause of the intracardiac mass.

Conclusions:

• Endomyocardial biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing intracardiac masses.
• Multimodality imaging and expert interpretation are crucial for diagnosing high-risk intracardiac masses.
• Endomyocardial biopsy is safe in experienced centers.