Cardiac metastasis of a soft tissue sarcoma: Case report and review of literature

Our plain-English summary of Cardiac metastasis of a soft tissue sarcoma: Case report and review of literature, by A. Chetoui, O. Alouazen, L. Yazghi Martahe, et al (Acta Radiologica Open, 2025).

The study

• Authors: A. Chetoui, O. Alouazen, L. Yazghi Martahe, A. Oulad Amar, S. Alaoui Rachidi
• Journal: Acta Radiologica Open
• Published: 2025;14(1):20584601241313111
• Type of article: Case report
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Cardiac metastases are the most frequent cardiac tumors. They can cause dysrhythmia, myocardial dysfunction, pericardial effusion, and heart failure. In decreasing order, the major primary malignancies associated with cardiac metastases are pleural mesothelioma, lung adenocarcinoma, undifferentiated carcinomas, lung squamous cell carcinoma, and breast carcinoma. Cardiac metastasis of sarcomas is uncommon, and only a limited number of cases have been found in literature. We report the case of an incidentally discovered cardiac metastasis when assessing the extension of a thigh mass in a 45-year-old man.

© The Author(s) 2025.

In plain English

This was a case report from a radiology department in Tangier, Morocco, with a short discussion of earlier published cases. It did not concern asbestos exposure. A 45-year-old man with no medical history had a slowly growing right thigh mass over the past year, with weight loss. MRI showed a large mass invading the upper third of the femur and the quadriceps muscle. A biopsy showed a soft tissue sarcoma, described as a grade 3 pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma. A CT scan to check for spread found a mostly cystic mass, 57 × 34 mm, that appeared to be attached to the left ventricle and was consistent with a heart metastasis. It also showed spread to the lungs, liver, lymph nodes, spleen, bone and right paravertebral muscles. He had no heart symptoms. The authors noted that heart spread of soft tissue sarcoma is very rare and that, unlike most published cases, it was found here at initial staging. The introduction's mention of pleural mesothelioma came from earlier literature, not from this case. Treatment and outcome were not reported.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: case report of one patient, with a brief discussion of previously published cases and series
• Who was studied: one 45-year-old man with no medical history, assessed at the Radiology Department, Mohammed VI University Hospital, Tangier, Morocco; dates of care not given
• Exposure: No asbestos or other environmental or occupational exposure was reported; the article concerns a soft tissue sarcoma of the thigh that had spread to the heart
• Main results:
  • The patient had a slow-growing right thigh mass over the past year; MRI showed it invading the upper third of the femur and the quadriceps muscle
  • Biopsy of the thigh mass showed a soft tissue sarcoma; immunohistochemistry was consistent with a grade 3 pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma (FNCLCC classification)
  • CT found a predominantly cystic myocardial mass measuring 57 × 34 mm, which appeared to be attached to the left ventricle and was consistent with a cardiac metastasis
  • CT also showed metastases in the lungs, liver, lymph nodes, spleen, bone and right paravertebral muscles, with intramedullary invasion
  • The patient had no clinical cardiac symptoms
  • The cardiac metastasis was found at initial staging
• The authors' conclusion: The authors noted that cardiac metastasis of soft tissue sarcoma is very rare. They closed, citing earlier literature, by stating that cardiac metastases have a very poor prognosis and are managed mainly by treating the primary tumor or with palliative care.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Metastasis, Sarcoma, Pericardial Effusion, Pleural Mesothelioma, Lung Adenocarcinoma, Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

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