Primary Cardiac Tumors in Children: An 8-Year-Experience in a Single Center

Abstract

Background: Cardiac neoplasms are not common in the pediatric population, and most of the reported cases in the literature are benign. Despite their benign nature, however, cardiac neoplasms may lead to hemodynamic instability and arrhythmias. Objectives: Our study aimed to review the natural history, diagnosis, pathological features, and outcome of pediatric patients with cardiac tumors presenting to a tertiary pediatric cardiac center over an 8-year period. Methods: This retrospective observational study reviewed and analyzed the hospital records and data of pediatric patients diagnosed with cardiac tumors over an 8-year period (2007 - 2015). Results: During the period covered by the study (2007 - 2015), a total of 62975 pediatric in and out patients were referred to our tertiary cardiac center for cardiac evaluation. Cardiac tumors were identified in 41 patients, in 35 of whom tumor types were recognized. Rhabdomyomas were the most common tumors, followed by fibromas and myxomas. Fourteen patients underwent surgical management (either total or partial resection), and 4 patients received chemotherapy. Associated congenital heart diseases, except for the patent foramen ovale, were detected in12 patients. Conclusions: While almost all our findings were compatible with previous data, we had a comparatively large number of undetermined tumors. Therefore, a better understanding of the imaging characteristics of cardiac tumors is needed for a better diagnosis of tumor types via noninvasive modalities.