Key result
Primary malignant cardiac tumor incidence grew ~5% annually, driven by cardiac lymphoma and mesothelioma.
Why the study?
Primary malignant cardiac tumors are rare neoplasms, and population-level data on their incidence patterns are limited.
Observational
Yes
The incidence of primary malignant cardiac tumors in the US has increased significantly from 2000 to 2022, primarily driven by rising rates of cardiac lymphoma and mesothelioma.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Warrants clinician vigilance for rising cardiac lymphoma and mesothelioma; hypothesis-generating for evolving risk factors.
e24000 Background: Primary malignant cardiac tumors (PMCTs) are considered extremely rare neoplasms, with limited population-level data on incidence patterns. This study aims to describe the epidemiology of PMCTs in the United States, focusing on three main histologic subtypes: sarcomas, lymphomas, and mesotheliomas. Methods: We extracted cases of pathologically confirmed PMCTs diagnosed between 2000 and 2022 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 17 Registries database. Incidence rates (IRs) were age-adjusted to the 2000 US Standard Population. Long-term trends over the years were identified by Joinpoint regression software (version 5.4) through determination of joinpoints by permutation test (4499 permutations) at an alpha of p < 0.05. The annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC) were computed. Results: From 2000 to 2022, the overall incidence of PMCTs significantly increased with an Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) of 4.9%. This trend was characterized by two distinct periods of rapid growth (2000-2004 and 2012-2015) separated by intervals of stability. When analysed by subtype, both lymphoma and mesothelioma demonstrated consistent and significant increases over the entire period, with AAPCs of 5.2% (p < 0.001) and 3.1% (p = 0.019), respectively. In contrast, the incidence of sarcoma remained stable, showing no statistically significant change throughout the 22-year study period (AAPC = 0.2%, p = 0.792). Conclusions: The rising incidence of primary malignant cardiac tumors is not uniform across histological subtypes. The overall increase is primarily driven by significant and steady growth in cardiac lymphoma and mesothelioma, while the incidence of sarcoma has remained stable. These divergent trends highlight the need for subtype-specific research to understand the distinct etiologies and risk factors contributing to the changing landscape of cardiac malignancies.
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Alhousani et al. (2026) conducted an observational in Primary malignant cardiac tumors. The overall incidence of primary malignant cardiac tumors in the US significantly increased from 2000 to 2022 (AAPC 4.9%), primarily driven by steady growth in cardiac lymphoma and mesothelioma.
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