PRIMARY TUMORS OF THE HEART

Abstract

The majority of benign cardiac tumors are now amenable to surgical treatment, and their diagnosis during life is, therefore, of great importance. Although primary malignant neoplasms of the heart may not be surgically curable, they may mimic cardiac lesions which are amenable to surgical treatment. Definitive diagnosis, when possible, is, therefore, important. Approximately 75 per cent of all primary cardiac tumors are benign lesions. Of a series of 329 primary tumors of the heart reported by Mahaim,¹73 per cent were benign. Fifty-nine per cent of these benign neoplasms were myxomas or fibromas, and 24 per cent were rhabdomyomas. Since patients with rhabdomyomas usually die in infancy, myxomas and fibromas constitute approximately 80 per cent of all primary benign tumors of the heart in older children and adults. Of 550 primary heart tumors in a series reported by Crawford and associates,²more than 300 were myxomas. Approximately 25