title: A case of primary leiomyosarcoma of the heart.
abstract: A 53-year-old male was hospitalized with complaints of cough, fever and backache. Two-dimensional echo-cardiography showed a pericardial echo-free space and a mass in the right atrium. Based on the MRI findings showing a pericardial mass originating from the atrial tumor, the final diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma was made by a percutaneous pericardial biopsy. Despite various therapies, the patient died after 3 wk. Because of its rareness (to date only 25 case reports), a premortem diagnosis of primary cardiac leiomyosarcoma is generally difficult. However, we feel that MRI and a subsequent biopsy is quite useful for making an early diagnosis of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takamizawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saitoh
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007890:Leiomyosarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography