Journal Article

F-FDG-PET/CT imaging in cardiac tumors: illustrative clinical cases and review of the literature

Valentina Ambrosini, Annalisa Astolfi, Stefano Fanti, Maria Abbondanza Pantaleo, Milena Urbini, Maristella Saponara, Margherita Nannini, Lidia Gatto, Valentina Indio

2018

Overview

Cardiac tumors are a very rare condition. Mostly, they are benign tumors (75%), with myxomas being the most frequent. The remaining 25% are malignant; either primary malignant sarcoma or secondary metastases. Given the small number of cases reported and the lack of prospective and randomized clinical trials, the level of evidence for the optimal multimodal treatment of primary cardiac sarcomas is very low and the optimal imaging diagnostic workup is not well established. In particular, 18 F-FDG-PET/CT is not yet included in routine diagnosis of cardiac masses. Here, we report four illustrative clinical cases and a review of the literature on the current available data on the role of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT imaging in cardiac tumors.

• Publisher: SAGE Publishing