Home / Cancer of the heart / Cancer of the heart: symptoms and treatment

Cancer of the heart: symptoms and treatment

Cancer heart disease are very rare. Experts explain this by the fact that the heart muscle is constantly washed by the blood and is in motion. Unfortunately, this rule has its exceptions. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the symptoms of cancer of the heart is manifested already at the stage of metastasis, respectively, the prognosis for recovery is poor. However, the treatment of cancer of the heart is still drawn because a lot depends on what the tumor was diagnosed.

Varieties of neoplastic lesions of the heart

raspolozhenie serdcaDistinguishes primary (twenty-five percent of the total number of cases) and secondary tumor formation. Most often the primary tumor is a sarcoma, but lymphoma is diagnosed less frequently. Sarcoma can occur with equal probability in men and women. Such a tumor grows from the mesenchyme and is characterized by a variety of morphological variants, respectively, the diagnosis in this case is difficult. The most common age of onset 30 to 50 years. Sarcoma predominantly affects the right heart departments. Such a tumor that arose as a primary, can cause compression of coronary vessels and large arteries and veins and occlusion of the output divisions and the valve holes. Sarcoma grows very quickly and aggressive forms of metastases affecting the brain, adrenal glands, lungs and lymph nodes.

One of the most common sarcomas angiosarcoma. She was diagnosed in 33% of the total number of primary malignant diseases. This type of tumor is more typical for men than for women the difference is two or three times. Commonly affects the right atrium, but hemangiosarcoma can spread to all cardiac departments. Such tumors are vascular cavity, interconnected and filled with blood.

A rhabdomyosarcoma is it diagnosed in 20% of cases, often in men. As for age, the disease is not restrictions. The cells of such a tumor can form the beam or alveolar structure or be solid fields.

Ten percent of cases are diagnosed fibrosarcoma, which is a mesenchymal tumor and can be diagnosed in people of any age and gender. Cells of such tumors have the appearance of interwoven beams. Other varieties such as lymphoma and mesothelioma are diagnosed very rarely. Given such a broad classification, you can ask the question whether there is cancer of the heart?

Secondary tumors of the heart and metastatic processes

Twenty-five times more often than primary tumors of the heart suffering from secondary cancer lesions. Such diseases can result from thyroid cancer, kidney, stomach, lung or breast cancer. Especially likely metastatic lesions of the heart with such diagnoses:

  • melanoma,
  • lymphoma,
  • leukemia.

According to statistics, metastasis to the heart is possible in 20% of cases with the diagnosis of "cancer". Most often, this process involves the pericardium, and then the myocardium, and the endocardium and heart valve rarely affected. Metastatic cancer symptoms of the heart are:

  • shortness of breath,
  • the sudden appearance of a systolic murmur,
  • signs of acute pericarditis,
  • cardiac tamponade,
  • the rapid increase of the cardiac loop (its area) when performing radiographic examination,
  • heart rhythm disorders,
  • congestive heart failure,
  • atrioventricular block.

However, the severity of clinical manifestations rarely depends on the histological type of the tumor but are in direct proportion to the size of the tumor and its localization.

Malignancy in the heart of the main symptoms

Clinicalpicture of the disease depends on where the tumor is located and what is the amount of obstruction of heart cavities. The main and most typical symptom is heart failure that progresses rapidly and can not be another explanation. This clinical picture is accompanied by the following symptoms:

  • the enlargement of the heart,
  • hemorrhagic pericardial effusion,
  • tamponade,
  • pain in the chest,
  • arrhythmia,
  • heart conduction disorders,
  • obstruction of Vena cava,
  • sudden death.

If the tumors are limited to the myocardium and does not extend inside the cavity, they may need some time to produce symptoms or to limit arrhythmias.

In addition, suspected of malignancy by the following criteria:

  • increasing weakness,
  • nagging pain in the joints,
  • hemopericardium in the absence of trauma,
  • changes of clinical blood tests
  • pain is localized inside the chest,
  • changes characteristic of chronic heart failure: the weight loss of the fingers, thickening them at the ends (drum sticks) and nail changes (hour glass)
  • inexplicable rashes,
  • numbness of fingers and toes,
  • syndrome superior Vena cava, and cardiac tamponade is missing,
  • the symptoms of right ventricular failure,
  • swelling of the face and upper extremities (due to obstruction of the superior Vena cava),
  • stagnation in the internal organs (due to obstruction of the inferior Vena cava).

The methods of diagnosis and treatment of cancerous diseases of the heart

Unfortunately, the cases are rare in vivo diagnosis. In addition, seventy percent of the cases patients already have metastatic disease, which further worsens the prognosis. If it is not treated cancer of the heart, the duration of life of the patient will be from six to twelve months. While effective treatment can increase life expectancy up to five years.

The method of choice in the diagnosis of cardiac tumors is echocardiography, and a method such as computer tomography allows topical diagnosis of tumors with a high degree of reliability. Reliable method of research is considered and magnetic resonance imaging.

Surgical intervention in most cases is inefficient because by the time of diagnosis of the disease the tumor is large and extends not only within the myocardium, but also on the number of surrounding organs and tissues. The most popular type of treatment in this case is symptomatic. This approach involves systemic chemotherapy in combination with radiation therapy due to this is the clinical manifestation of the disease is significantly reduced.