A metastatic ball tumor in the right atrium originating from esophageal cancer: report of a case.
A metastatic ball tumor in the right atrium originating from esophageal cancer is extremely rare. A 53-year-old woman had two such tumors without any other types of metastasis. These tumors were associated with severe thrombocytopenia caused by the consumption of platelets. Even after repeated transfusions of platelets and fresh frozen plasma, the thrombocytopenia could not be controlled. Therefore, a surgical resection was performed to improve the thrombocytopenia and avoid sudden death due to a complete obstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract by the tumor. As the throm-bocytopenia did not recur postoperatively, the patient was discharged from hospital. She died, however, of multiple metastases with bilateral pleural effusions 5 months after the surgery.
Nakamura
Yoshitsugu
Y
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kanto Medical Center, NTT EC, 5-9-22 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-8625, Japan.
Nakano
Kiyoharu
K
Gomi
Akihiko
A
Nakatani
Hayao
H
Saegusa
Naoki
N
Matsuya
Shoji
S
Imai
Tamotsu
T
D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000150:complications / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000209:etiology