An Insight into Cardiac Tumours Using Over 20 Years of Up-to-Date Historical Data.

Abstract Aim Cardiac tumours are uncommon and frequently incidental findings. The study aims at analysing the demographics, presentation, histological prevalence and outcomes for cardiac tumours over the past 21 years. Method An observational retrospective data analysis on an SCTS database of all patients undergoing cardiac surgery at 3 different centres in the UK was performed. Further data was collected through operative summaries, pathology reports and outpatient letters. Results 207 patients underwent an operation for a cardiac tumour between 2001 and 2022, 66.2% were female and 33.8% male. Mean age was 62 years (17- 86 years). 62.3% were urgent procedures, 21.3% elective and 16.4% emergencies. 44 patients presented with chest pain, 29 stroke, 18 palpitations/arrhythmias, 15 shortness of breath and 7 syncope. In 51 patients the finding was incidental. Average cardiopulmonary bypass time was 80 minutes, and the average cross clamp time was 52 minutes. In 80.2% of cases the left chamber was involved, 10.6% right atrium, 1% left ventricle and 0.5% right ventricle. The final pathological specimen was reported as myxoma in 80.2% of cases, fibroelastoma in 3.9%, thrombus in 7%, sarcoma in 2.9 % and 1% calcified mass. Other histologies included osteosarcoma, lymphoma, granulation tissue, infected mass, cardiac fibroma, and lipoma. In-hospital mortality was 1.5%. Conclusions Despite the rarity of cardiac tumours and the lack of presenting symptoms, the study demonstrated that surgical mortality is low and although the overwhelmingly the commonest histology was confirmed to be myxoma, sarcoma is also an important differential as are the other histologies, which may be surprising.