title: Cardiac angiosarcoma: case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Angiosarcoma of the heart, the most common primary malignant cardiac tumor in adults is known to carry a dismal prognosis. The diagnosis is often delayed because of the nonspecific clinical presentation. Symptoms are determined by the size and location of the tumor. Echocardiography has become the primary diagnostic technique because of its high degree of accuracy, noninvasiveness, and cost effectiveness. Complete surgical resection is required for improved survival. Conventional postoperative chemotherapy does not appear to modify the clinical course. We report a case of cardiac angiosarcoma with a large mural mass infiltrating the right atrial and ventricular walls and critically review the pertinent literature.
authors.affiliation: Kerckhoff Heart Center, Division of Cardiology, Benekestr. 2-8, 61231, Bad Nauheim, Germany. r.brandt@kerckhoff-klinik.de
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Bohle
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dill
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Hamm
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D006338:Heart Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography