10th May 2025

Management

All patients with cardiac tumours should be referred for consideration of surgical assessment. Even small or incidental benign cardiac tumours are considered for resection due to embolic risk. For right-sided and asymptomatic benign tumours they may not be resected but are still recommended for strict echocardiographic follow-up.

Cardiac tumours are usually resected through medial sternotomy and due to their friable nature recommended for minimal manipulation of the heart and radiotherapy is often carried out either before – to facilitate removal – and/ or after to prevent recurrences. Cardiac transplantation, or in the case of lung metastases combined heart and lung transplantation can be considered for appropriate patients. However, regarding extracardiac metastases, chemotherapy is the only therapeutic option.