Primary Cardiac Angiosarcoma: A Rare and Fatal Diagnosis
Catarina VieiraCureus
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Abstract
Primary cardiac angiosarcoma is a rare malignant neoplasm and occurs most frequently in middle-aged males. It has an aggressive nature, with highly variable clinical features, which results in delayed diagnosis and high mortality. We report a 19-year-old man presented to the ED with a three-month history of hemoptysis and one-week history of anterior chest pain. Additionally, an aortic diastolic murmur grade II/VI was found on physical examination. Thoracic CT scan revealed bilateral dispersed hypodense pulmonary nodes with peripheral halo, alveolar densification, and pericardial effusion. The transthoracic echocardiogram confirmed sizeable pericardial effusion and bicuspid aortic valve, without other significant findings. A pericardiocentesis removed 1300 mL of hemorrhagic fluid, consistent with an exudate without malignant cells. Both cardiac magnetic resonance and transesophageal echocardiogram revealed a large mass on the right atrium's anterior wall. Mass biopsy was performed, revealing malignant cardiac angiosarcoma. The biopsy of the lung lesions was compatible with lung metastasis of primary cardiac angiosarcoma. The patient was submitted to palliative chemotherapy but died 12 months after the diagnosis.
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