Is the heart involved or not? The diagnostic value of cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in the assessment of non-cardiac malignancies and metastatic cardiac tumours

Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is a radiation-free, high-spatial resolution technique which provides dynamic assessment of the heart and pericardial tissue. This is particularly useful for the evaluation and characterisation of non-cardiac tumours close to the pericardium for the exclusion of cardiovascular infiltration, and also for the assessment of the extent of myocardial invasion of cardiac metastases. This information can help make key decisions on further management in oncology multidisciplinary meetings. The CMR evaluation and main types of sequences acquired are detailed in this case series to illustrate the application of CMR in the assessment of non-cardiac malignancies and its importance in guiding management.

Echocardiographic Presentations of Isolated Metastasis of Mediastinal Carcinoid to the Left Ventricle: A Case Report

A mediastinal carcinoid is a low-grade malignant tumor, which has low risk of metastasis, and cardiac metastasis is even rarer. When a patient has cardiac metastasis, the primary carcinoid is usually widely metastasized. In this case report, we presented occurrence of isolated left-sided cardiac metastases ten years after surgical removal of left anterior superior mediastinal carcinoid.

Cardiac Metastasis from Medullary Thyroid Cancers with Long-Term Survival under Vandetanib

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Cardiac metastases from thyroid cancers are uncommon with a poor prognosis. There is a lack of long-term follow-up studies. <b><i>Cases:</i></b> We report 2 cases of cardiac metastasis from medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Both patients presented limited metastatic disease apart from a cardiac metastasis. The initial diagnosis was challenging and was facilitated by functional imaging with an immuno-PET-CT using an anti-CEA bispecific antibody and a ⁶⁸Ga-labeled peptide. Both patients were treated with the multitarget kinase inhibitor vandetanib with prolonged stability. The first patient was alive at the last follow-up, 14 years after the diagnosis of cardiac metastasis. The second patient required surgical excision of the cardiac mass because of disease progression under vandetanib. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> These cases illustrate long-term survival and effectiveness of clinical management of 2 patients who developed cardiac metastases from MTC, in the current era of personalized medicine with targeted therapy.

Acute pulmonary embolism in a patient with hepatitis C virus infection and hepatocellular carcinoma: a case report

Background Cardiac metastases in hepatocellular carcinoma patients are infrequently encountered and usually associated with a very poor prognosis. Case presentation Hereby, we report a case of an acute pulmonary embolism (PE) on top of HCC with direct cardiac invasion to the right atrium (RA) through the inferior vena cava with another metastasis to the right ventricular apex in the form of highly mobile cauliflower mass protruding through the tricuspid valve into RA and nearly obliterating right ventricular outflow tract in a multi-centric hepatocellular carcinoma patient. Conclusion Acute dyspnea in a patient with a long history of hepatitis C virus infection raises the suspicion of acute PE due to either hypercoagulable state induced by malignancy or by cardiac extension of the tumor which usually carries high mortality rates. To the best of our knowledge, this case is the first case in the literature to show cardiac metastases in HCC with two different pathological mechanisms.