The heart is one of the most essential organs found in the human body and is engaged in the constant process of pumping blood in order to sustain life. The reason why heart cancer is extremely rare is because the heart tissue has a low rate of cell division when compared to other tissues. For this reason, many people are unaware of heart cancer.

Heart cancer can also be referred to as cardiac cancer. The condition can prove quite challenging to diagnose when it comes to heart ailments since it presents symptoms that may be quite identical to other heart disorders. Although it is a quite uncommon condition, it can prove quite serious.

Read this article to learn more about heart cancer, symptoms, common risk factors, diagnosis and treatment strategies and cancer prognosis.

Understanding Heart Cancer

The heart pumps and supplies blood to the rest of your body ceaselessly. The heart is a body part that is closely associated with your lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and stomach. Owing to their close association, any one of them could influence another.

Heart cancer is where the cells of the heart turn cancerous and result in damaging the Heart Structure and Function. This is also referred to as Primary Heart Cancer or Primary Cardiac Tumour. As dangerous as it may appear, it is actually a very uncommon disease that has been reported to affect only a handful of people in India. Only 2 of every 100,000 people suffer from primary Heart Cancer. This shows how rarely cases of Heart Cancer have been observed. It has also been observed that only 25% of them are potentially dangerous (Malignant).

However, once the heart is affected, the tumor can cause extreme alterations in the blood flow and the rhythm of the heart. This is exactly why it is necessary to remain updated and have regular check-ups of the heart.

Types of Cardiac Tumors

Primary Benign Cardiac Tumors

• Myxoma

Myxomas are the common benign cardiac tumors found in adults. They mostly affect the left atrium, accounting for about 80% of the cases, followed by the right atrium and then the ventricles. They usually develop at the inter-atrial septum close to the fossa ovalis membrane. The non-familial variant is mostly found in females and tends to affect the patient in the sixth decade of life.

• Lipoma

Lipomas rank as the second most prevalent form of the primary heart mass, contributing about 0.5% of all heart tumors. Lipomas primarily occur in the sub-endocardium and sub-epicardium of the left ventricle, right atrium, and inter-atrial septum regions of the heart. In macroscopic form, heart lipomas appear as yellow, soft, smooth, and walled masses of the heart that are quite distinct from their neighboring tissues.

• Papillary Fibroelastoma

Papillary fibroelastomas, also known as endocardial papillomas, are the most prevalent type of heart valve tumors, contributing to 75% of valvular tumors, and tend to occur on the aortic valve and mitral valve, most commonly on the aortic valve. It is of endocardial origin and occurs mostly in the left-sided heart chambers (95%). It is more prevalent in males than females and occurs during the sixth and seventh decades of life.

• Rhabdomyoma

Rhabdomyomas represent the commonest form of cardiac tumor in infants and usually present prior to the first year of life. More than 86% of rhabdomyomas have been implicated in cases of tuberous sclerosis. Rhabdomyomas usually present in multiples at a given time and usually affect the ventricles. Macroscopically, they present as well-demarcated but unencapsulated whitish to gray nodules measuring a few millimeters to a few centimeters in size.

Malignant Cardiac Tumors

• Cardiac Sarcomas

Angiosarcoma is the most frequent primary malignant cardiac tumor, its incidence strikingly increasing in the fourth decade of life. This tumor most often originates in the right atrial chamber. Macroscopically, the angiosarcomas look like dark brown or black hemorrhagic masses with infiltrating borders. On microscopy, they invade the cardiac muscle without distinct margins. The prognosis is generally bad for patients with angiosarcoma.

• Secondary Cardiac Tumors

Secondary cardiac tumors, or metastatic involvement of the heart, are more common and can result from direct invasion from the mediastinum or hematogenous spread. Clinical suspicion for cardiac metastasis or tumor extension should be raised in any patient presenting with new symptoms that could indicate heart failure or valvular disease. One of the most common findings in these cases is the presence of pericardial effusion. Histologically, in secondary tumors the nature of the cardiac mass is defined by the underlying malignancy responsible for the cardiac involvement.

Symptoms of Heart Cancer

Most patients with a cardiac tumor are symptom free. For the patients who are symptomatic, the presentation is generally nonspecific and akin to that of many other common conditions of the cardiovascular system. The clinical presentation is generally contingent upon the site of the tumor, its size, rate of growth, and its friability. Many of these symptoms are common in other heart conditions and do not automatically mean cancer.

Examples of clinical presentations:

• Heart failure (shortness of breath, swelling in the legs, inability to lay flat)
• Arrhythmia (Irregular Heart Beat)
• Chest pain
• Stroke (Slurred Speech, Weakness, Vision Loss)
• Pericardial effusion (fluid/blood/tumor in the sac surrounding the heart)
• Constitutional symptoms (such as fever, weight loss, inflammatory markers, and anemia)

Risk Factors of Heart Cancer

Despite the fact that the actual cause of heart cancer is not known, some factors that increase the risks include:

• Age: Although it is not specified by comprehensive research, the age group of the commonest tumor of the heart is found to be among adults, not children.
• Gender: More prevalent in males than in females.
• Genetics: There were mutations in the DNA that might cause cancer.
• Other cancers in the body: Other cancers such as those in the blood, lungs, or breasts may metastasize to affect the heart.

Diagnosis and Screening of Heart Cancer

Various imaging tools may also prove helpful in identifying the characteristics and source of a mass. Notwithstanding the complexity associated with the pathological evaluation for cardiac masses, the majority of these tumors simply cannot be identified with absolute certainty unless they have been removed. The following modalities mainly apply to the identification of cardiac masses:

Echocardiogram

This imaging study is a key tool to diagnose the heart tumor. Sensitivity and specificity can go up to 90% and can be done easily. If more information has to be obtained, transesophageal echocardiography can further assist to see the properties of the heart tumor. An assessment of size, movability, extension, and relation of adjacent structures can be identified, and dynamics related to it, like obstruction or insufficiency of valves, can also be identified.

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) is a very specific technique for evaluating cardiac masses. It gives precise information about their dimensions, location, mobility, and relation to adjacent structures. The advantages it offers are not only greater sensitivity than echocardiography but also the possibility of evaluating tissue characterization, detecting cystic or edematous tissue by assessment of water content, and evaluating vascularity by first-pass perfusion.

Computed Tomography Scan

This imaging modality is helpful for the evaluation of cardiac mass and surrounding structures and is able to evaluate the character of mass by assessing the x-ray attenuation properties of the mass. Furthermore, this modality is able to demonstrate calcification of the mass and is able to evaluate small masses too.

Left Heart Catheterization & Coronary Angiogram

The left cardiac catheterization can aid in the determination of the blood supply, as well as the surrounding structures, of the tumor. The procedure can also aid in determining the tumor's invasion of the epicardial vessels, while with ventriculography, it can aid in determining the tumor's growth into the ventricular chambers.

Biopsy and Histological Examination

It is a risky process when done in vivo. This is practiced mostly in centers where the surgeon is experienced. Biopsy is more likely on the right side in determining histological origin. This can potentially lead to embolization on the left. Imaging can improve the yield on a biopsy by providing a satisfactory specimen.

Treatments for Heart Cancer

Sometimes, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or both, can reduce the size of a heart tumor and alleviate symptoms. If another cancer has spread to your heart, your provider will treat that original cancer.

Other treatment is based on the location and size of the tumor, as well as your overall health and age. The tumor can be surgically removed. This can extend your life, if a surgeon is able to remove the tumor completely. These operations are very complex. If possible, they should be done at a specialty center. In rare cases, cardiac autotransplantation may be considered. This is an autotransplantation. A machine pumps your blood during this surgery, like in some other surgeries on your heart.

Prognosis of Heart Cancer

Heart cancer is hard to treat. It tends to come back after you finish any kind of treatment and can move to other areas inside your body.

Average life expectancy for patients with heart cancer is six months if there is no surgical intervention. Individuals can live more than one year if there is an option to undergo surgery. Some patients may live several years if the tumor is completely removed (resected).

For a primary heart tumor, the survival rate of a heart cancer stands at 50% in the initial year, later declining to 24% in the third year and 19% in the fifth year. The secondary heart cancer also harbors a poor prognosis, or outlook.

Palliative Care & Support at End of Life

If the cancer has progressed into some of the final stages and has metastasized or invaded other organs, then the cancer might be terminal. When heart cancer is advanced and cannot be cured, palliative care focuses on comfort, symptom control, and quality of life. A hospice or palliative care facility has been built specifically for such patients. These services for them might include:

• Medical help
• Financial assistance
• Frequent health and fitness checks
• Social Support
• Emotional resources and first-aid
• Spiritual Support

The Professionals involved in palliative services have the skills to manage the emotional roller coaster experienced by patients with terminal cases of cancer. They are always focused on ensuring patients have pain relief, symptoms controlled, and psychological issues addressed. They are excellent listeners with medical expertise to make sure loved ones are comfortable.

Having heart cancer is very rare and very complex, but there is hope for these patients. By early diagnosis, sophisticated imaging techniques, and specialty care and supportive care combined, there is hope for these patients. Although this diagnosis is overwhelming to patients, patients would be significantly helped by specialty care from cardiac and oncologic personnel combined.

While the overall outlook can be challenging, outcomes vary widely depending on tumor type, location, and whether surgery is possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is heart cancer common? No. Primary heart cancers are very unusual.

2. Can heart cancer be cured? To achieve a complete cure in all instances may actually be difficult but can be achieved in selected cases with surgery in the early

3. Is heart cancer always fatal? Not always. Depending on type and treatment.

4. How fast does heart cancer grow? Often, heart tumors develop quite rapidly, especially sarcomas.

5. Is early detection of heart cancer possible? It is hard to diagnose it early because of non-specific symptoms.

6. Heart cancers can cause heart attacks. It is not the same condition but can mimic the symptoms of heart attacks.

7. Is heart cancer painful? Pain can occur, especially in end-stage disease.

References

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4. Curtis, Lindsay. “Signs and Symptoms of Heart Cancer.” Health, 29 Sept. 2025{: rel="nofollow"}