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Common benign primary pediatric cardiac tumors: a primer for radiologists

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Abstract

Cardiac tumors are neoplasms arising from or located in the heart or the pericardium. Although rare, primary cardiac tumors in children require an accurate and timely diagnosis. Most pediatric primary cardiac tumors are benign (around 90%). Echocardiography is the first imaging modality used due to its availability, noninvasiveness, inexpensiveness, and absence of ionizing radiation. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offer better soft tissue visualization as well as better visualization of extracardiac structures. A great advantage of MRI is the possibility of measuring cardiac function and blood flow, which can be important for obstructing cardiac tumors. In this article, we will offer a brief review of clinical, echocardiographic, CT, and MRI features of cardiac rhabdomyomas, fibromas, teratomas, and lipomas providing their differential diagnosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Emergency Medicine of Zagreb County, Velika Gorica, Croatia

    Dora Grgat

  2. School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Zagreb, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Daniel Dilber

  3. School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Zagreb, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Maja Hrabak Paar

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  1. Dora Grgat
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  2. Daniel Dilber
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Correspondence to Maja Hrabak Paar.

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Supplementary file1 (MPG 312 KB) 1. Cine steady-state free precession magnetic resonance imaging sequence (two-chamber view) in a 3-year-old female patient with tuberous sclerosis and cardiac rhabdomyoma in the basal anterior wall of the left ventricle (the same patient as in Figures 1, 2 and 3). The mass is attached to the anterior cusp of the mitral valve leading to moderate mitral regurgitation. Breathing artifacts degrade the image quality.

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Grgat, D., Dilber, D. & Hrabak Paar, M. Common benign primary pediatric cardiac tumors: a primer for radiologists. Jpn J Radiol 41, 477–487 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-022-01371-1

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