Heart transplantation for primary cardiac sarcoma

Abstract

Primary cardiac sarcoma is a rapidly progressive, aggressive cardiac tumor that is very rare in the general population. Conservative treatment for this tumor is not very effective. The only effective treatment is radical surgical removal of the malignancy. However, if sarcoma removal cannot be performed, heart transplantation (HT) becomes the only treatment option. The median survival of heart recipients with preoperative cardiac sarcoma is 8.5 months. Globally, such operations are performed in a small number of cases. This paper presents the first experience of HT for a patient with primary cardiac sarcoma in the Russian Federation.