[Surgical treatment of primary cardiac tumors]

Thirty-four cases of primary cardiac tumors, consisted of 11 men and 23 women, aged between 26 and 80 years have been operated on in our institution. A total of 30 myxomas and four malignant tumors were resected. The clinical presentations included congestive heart failure in 25 patients, tachyarrhythmia in 6, chest pain in 4, and embolism in 10. All 30 myxoma lesions were completely resected, although none of the malignant tumors could be resected completely because of invasion of the tumor to the surrounding tissues. Four patients with malignant tumors died of tumor recurrence within 9 months after operation. Histological diagnosis was rhabdomyosarcoma in two patients, round cell sarcoma in one and malignant fibrous histiocytoma in one. All patients with myxoma survived operation. Follow-up was completed in 28 patients (range 1 month to 15 years, mean 5.5 years): Twenty-four were in New York Heart Association Class I, and the remaining two in Class II. Actuarial survival rate was 89% at 15 years after operation. No recurrent myxoma have been identified clinically or by echocardiography. For malignant primary tumors, more effective adjuvant therapy with aggressive resection will be inevitable to improve long-term prognosis.