Primary heart tumors in infancy and childhood. Report of four cases and review of literature.
Primary heart tumors are rare. The findings in 4 children with heart tumors are reported: a rhabdomyosarcoma, a rhabdomyoma, a fibroma and a myxoma. The symptoms depend upon the location (intrapericardial, intramural or intracavitary). ECG and X-ray provide no essential diagnostic information; echocardiography can give a decisive diagnostic indication in parietal and intracavitary tumors. Surgery provides a specimen for histology, but the tumor cannot always be removed. The prognosis, therefore, depends upon the result of surgery, but malignant tumors, mostly being diagnosed too late, have a very bad prognosis.
D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D004452:Echocardiography; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D005350:Fibroma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009232:Myxoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012207:Rhabdomyoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*