In a study of 12,487 autopsies performed in Hong Kong seven cardiac tumors were found, most of which were benign.
"[1] In a study conducted in the Hospital of the Medical University of Vienna 113 primary cardiac tumour cases were identified in a time period of 15 years with 11 being malignant.
[7] Patients with heart tumours usually have non-specific symptoms, such as dyspnea (in particular, shortness of breath when lying down), thoracoabdominal pain (pain in the general area around the heart), fatigue, hemoptysis, nausea and vomiting, fever, weight loss, and night sweats.
Because they grow rapidly and invade important heart structures, they can be very difficult to treat.
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are sometimes used to try to slow tumor growth and improve symptoms (palliative care), but frequently they are ineffective for primary heart cancer.
At that stage of the disease, the patients will likely have already undergone extensive chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgical procedures.