Background: Primary cardiac sarcomas are rare, aggressive types of malignancies with poor prognoses and can rarely present with thrombocytopenia. Sarcomas account for 65% of primary malignant cardiac tumours. Clinical symptoms often present with constitutional symptoms such as shortness of breath, weight loss, and fatigue. In addition, the tumour's location determines treatment options and prognosis. Multimodal imaging facilitates the detection and assessment of cardiovascular tumours. This case study presents a rare primary right heart cardiac sarcoma presenting with thrombocytopenia.
Case summary: An 80-year-old male presented to the emergency department with complaints of worsening dyspnoea, ease of bruising, and chest pain. An extensive investigation into the cause of thrombocytopenia was performed. A transthoracic echocardiogram, computed tomography scan, and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) image revealed a large mass affecting the right atrium and right ventricle. Myocardial biopsy showed high-grade angiosarcoma. Due to his advanced age and intraventricular septal involvement of the mass, the multidisciplinary team decided to proceed with palliative chemotherapy.
Discussion: Many cardiac tumours remain asymptomatic, and the diagnosis is made at an advanced stage of the disease. Differential diagnoses of the intramural masses include haemangiomas, lipomas, rhabdomyomas, lymphomas, and sarcomas. Multiple treatment options should be considered to address thrombocytopenia. Tumour diagnosis and identification consist of laboratory tests and multimodal imaging. Complete surgical resection with neoadjuvant and adjuvant purposes is the mainstay of cardiac sarcoma therapy. A multidisciplinary, individualized care approach should be performed.
Keywords: Case report; Primary cardiac sarcoma; Thrombocytopenia; Transthoracic echo.
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.