Key result
Clear-margin resection remains critical for resectable cardiac tumors, while malignant variants require multimodal therapy.
Why the study?
Cardiac tumors present significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to their rare occurrence, heterogeneous nature, and anatomical complexity.
What are the current evidence-based diagnostic modalities and management strategies for primary and metastatic cardiac tumors?
What are the current evidence-based diagnostic modalities and management strategies for primary and metastatic cardiac tumors?
This review highlights the critical role of multimodal imaging for diagnosing cardiac tumors and underscores the necessity of complete surgical resection and multidisciplinary care for improving patient outcomes.
Supports multidisciplinary cardiac tumor care; leaves open need for prospective trials to validate outcomes.
Cardiac tumors, though rare, present significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to their heterogeneous nature and anatomical complexity. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on prevalence, diagnostic modalities, and management strategies for primary and metastatic cardiac tumors. Echocardiography, cardiac MRI, and CT remain cornerstone imaging tools for differentiating tumors from non-neoplastic masses, while advances in PET/CT and tissue characterization techniques refine staging and treatment planning. Surgical resection with clear margins (R0) is critical for resectable tumors, particularly benign myxomas, though malignant tumors like sarcomas require multimodal approaches combining surgery, radiotherapy, and systemic therapies. Emerging strategies such as heart autotransplantation and staged resections offer promise for complex cases, while oligometastatic disease management highlights the role of stereotactic radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Key challenges include standardizing resection margins, optimizing neoadjuvant therapies, and addressing high recurrence rates in malignancies. Future directions emphasize integrating AI-driven imaging analysis, molecular biomarkers, and genomic profiling to personalize therapies, alongside global registries to enhance data on rare tumors. Equitable access to advanced diagnostics and multidisciplinary collaboration are essential to improve outcomes. This review underscores the need for standardized guidelines, technological innovation, and patient-centered research to address gaps in cardiac oncology.
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Rahouma et al. (2025) conducted a review in Cardiac tumors. Diagnostic modalities and management strategies was evaluated. Surgical resection with clear margins is critical for resectable cardiac tumors, while malignant tumors require multimodal approaches combining surgery, radiotherapy, and systemic therapies.
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