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Functional Imaging in Cardiac Tumors

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Functional Imaging in Oncology

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Abstract

Primary cardiac neoplasms are rare and identified in 0.05–0.15 % of cases in large autopsy [1, 2] and echocardiography series [3]. Primary cardiac tumors may be classified as benign or malignant. The most common benign cardiac tumors include myxoma, rhabdomyoma, fibroma, and lipoma, whereas the most common malignant primary tumors are sarcomas (angiosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma) and lymphoma [4, 5]. The majority, about three-fourth, of these tumors are benign [1, 2]. Secondary involvement of the heart or pericardium through local invasion or metastatic spread of malignant tumors is at least 20 times more common, identified in about 1.2 % of autopsy cases [1, 2] and 8 % of cancer victims [6]. Thoracic tumors (e.g., lung, breast, and esophagus) commonly invade the pericardium and heart. Other tumors that tend to metastasize to the heart include melanoma, soft tissue sarcomas, and gastric, pancreatic, thyroid, renal, and hepatocellular carcinomas [2, 6]. Cardiac involvement in lymphoma and leukemia is also common [2, 6]. When analyzed by the frequency according to the histologic type of the primary tumor, melanoma is the malignancy that more often metastasizes to the heart (46 % in autopsy series), followed by germ cell tumors (38 %), leukemia, and lymphoma [7].

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Abbreviations

ADC:

Apparent diffusion coefficient

CT:

Computed tomography

DWI:

Diffusion weighted imaging

ECG:

Electrocardiography

18F:

18Fluorine

18F-FDG:

Fluorodeoxyglucose

123I-MIBG:

123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine

MRI:

Magnetic resonance imaging

PET:

Positron emission tomography

RSE:

Maximum relative signal enhancement

SPIR:

Spectral presaturation by inversion recovery

SUVmax :

Standard uptake value

TSE:

Turbo spin echo

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Carlos S. Restrepo MD & Sina Tavakoli MD

  2. Department of Radiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Sonia L. Betancourt MD

Authors
  1. Carlos S. Restrepo MD
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  2. Sina Tavakoli MD
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  3. Sonia L. Betancourt MD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Health Time Group, Jaén, Spain

    Antonio Luna

  2. Clinica Girona Hospital Sta. Caterina, Gerona, Spain

    Joan C. Vilanova

  3. CDPI and IRM, Botafongo - Rio de Janeiro/RJ, Brazil

    L. Celso Hygino Da Cruz Jr.

  4. Centro de Diagnóstico Dr. Enrique Rossi, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Santiago E. Rossi

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Restrepo, C.S., Tavakoli, S., Betancourt, S.L. (2014). Functional Imaging in Cardiac Tumors. In: Luna, A., Vilanova, J., Hygino Da Cruz Jr., L., Rossi, S. (eds) Functional Imaging in Oncology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40582-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-40582-2_9

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