Metastatic Carcinoid Tumor to the Heart, A Dreadful Complication of Neuroendocrine Tumors Yet Under Estimated: About an Observation

Abstract

Cardiac metastases are uncommon in neuroendocrine tumors (NET). Features of patients with metastatic carcinoid tumor involving the heart have not been well described. Although carcinoid tumors have been described in almost every organ, few reported cases of confirmed cardiac involvement. The overall incidence of myocardial carcinoid metastases among patients with metastatic carcinoid disease is about 4%. There is limited knowledge on the prevalence, clinical presentation, and management of heart metastasis. The availability and increasing use of modern imaging techniques leads to more frequent discovery of rare metastatic sites. Our aim is to further clarify the clinical manifestations of heart metastasis, to increase the knowledge of rare localizations of NET metastasis and insist on the systematic screening of metastatic carcinoid heart disease as an integral part of the echocardiographic evaluation in patients with carcinoid syndrome. We report the case of a 67-year-old male with history of a low differentiated neuroendocrine tumor, presenting with palpitations and dyspnea and which investigations have led to diagnose myocardial metastasis signing the progression of the NETs.