title: Primary angiosarcoma of the heart. Report of a case and review of the literature.
abstract: We report on a 44-year-old male with primary cardiac angiosarcoma who died 11 months after onset of nonspecific symptoms (thoracic pain and general fatigue) of intracerebral metastases. A right atrial tumor mass and a pericardial effusion could be demonstrated by transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography. Cardiac angiography showed a right atrial hemangioma, fed by the right coronary artery. In a review of 108 cases of primary cardiac angiosarcoma we summarize clinical features, diagnostic means, therapeutic approaches and life expectancy of this rare disease.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Kardiologie, Medizinische Universität zu Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rettmar
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Stierle
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sheikhzadeh
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Diederich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D006325:Heart Atria; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006394:Hemangiosarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000556:secondary; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male