What are Cardiac Tumors?

Cardiac tumors are very rare and are formed by abnormal growths in the heart and heart valves. Cardiac tumors can be benign or malignant but in most cases, they are benign. Depending on size and location, benign cardiac tumors can still cause serious problems and be life-threatening. There are two types of cardiac tumors: primary and secondary.

• Primary: Primary cardiac tumors form in the heart. Myxoma is the most common primary cardiac tumor and in the majority of cases these tumors are almost always benign. Nearly half of the tumors that originate in the heart are myxomas. This type of primary tumor develops in adults and is more common in women than men. Myxomas typically grow in the left upper chamber (atrium) of the heart or in rare cases, other heart valves. Other primary tumors include fibromas, lipomas, pericardial cysts, papillary fibroelastomas, rhabdomyomas, hemangiomas, teratomas and paragangliomas and are all typically benign. Rhabdomyomas are the most common cardiac tumor in children and infants. Types of malignant primary tumors include pericardial mesothelioma, primary lymphoma and sarcoma. Angiosarcomas are the most common malignant primary cardiac tumor.
• Secondary: Secondary cardiac tumors form in a different part of the body such as the stomach, kidneys, lungs, breasts, colon or liver, and metastasize to the heart. These types of tumors are much more common than primary tumors and often are related to lymphoma, leukemia or melanoma. This document will focus on primary cardiac tumors only.