Primary Cardiac Tumors
Synonyms
Background
Primary cardiac tumors are rare, with metastases outnumbering primary tumors by a ratio of approximately 1,000:1 (Chiles et al. 2001). Atrial myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumor accounting for 40–50% of all primary cardiac tumors. The mortality of patients with atrial myxomas does not differ significantly from that of the general population (Attar et al. 1980). This entry will focus primarily on non-myxomatous primary cardiac tumors (nMPCT). These tumors are divided into benign (70% of all primary cardiac tumors) and malignant tumors (30% of all primary cardiac tumors). Benign tumors include rhabdomyoma, fibroma, fibroelastoma, hemangioma, lipoma, teratoma, and hamartoma; malignant tumors are primarily sarcomas (including angiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, malignant fibrohistiocytoma, leiomyosarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma), lymphomas, and pericardial mesothelioma (Cameron et al. 2008). In autopsy series, the incidence of primary cardiac...
References
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