title: Unusual echocardiographic appearance of a cardiac metastasis from lung carcinoma.
abstract: During hospitalization in the Oncology Department, a woman with nonsmall cell lung cancer and no previous cardiac event complained of episodes of chest pain and palpitations. Preliminary instrumental examinations diagnosed atrial fibrillation in pericarditis. A subsequent complete transthoracic echocardiogram showed the presence of a large mass involving the left ventricular apex, without echo-contrast enhancement. A thoracic CT with iodized contrast agent revealed its necrotic composition and was concluded as cardiac metastasis. This is an unusual case of a malignant neoplasm showing no contrast enhancement at echocardiogram because of its necrotic composition, mimicking a thrombus. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:392-394, 2016.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Diletta
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peluso
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology 2, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bonanno
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banzato
keywords: cardiac mass; cardiac metastasis; contrast echocardiography