Comprehensive review of the epidemiology and treatments for malignant adult cardiac tumors.

Carcinomas rarely occur in the heart, and cardiac surgeons are generally not familiar with cardiac tumors. Some characteristics of cardiac and intrapericardial tumors are reviewed to understand the features of cardiac tumors. Cardiac tumors are discussed separately from intrapericardial tumors. Primary cardiac tumors are predominantly benign whereas primary intrapericardial tumors are usually malignant. The prevalence of each tumor types is presented in this review. In both cardiac and intrapericardial tumors, the incidences of metastatic tumors from cancers outside of the heart are high with carcinomas occupying more than half of the cases. Generally, the prognosis of primary malignant cardiac tumors is very poor. Cardiac tumors metastasize to other organs as hematogenous metastases. Surgery must be performed based on all the above-mentioned features of both cardiac and intrapericardial tumors.