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Cardiac Metastases

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Cardiac Tumor Pathology

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Pathology ((CCPATH))

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Abstract

Tumors metastatic to the heart are a poorly known and highly debated issue in oncology. Although the heart can be metastasised by any malignant neoplasm able to spread to distant sites, systematic studies devoted to this topic are extremely rare.

The incidence of cardiac metastatisation seems to be not as low as expected, ranging from 2.3 to 18.3 %.

Although no malignant tumors are known to diffuse preferentially to the heart, some do involve the heart more often than others—for example, melanoma and mediastinal primary neoplasms. Our paper attempts to evaluate the pathophysiology, epidemiology, and clinical presentation of cardiac metastatic disease, giving also an accurate pathological characterisation of the lesions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathologic Anatomy, University of Trieste Medical School, Cattinara Hospital, Trieste, Italy

    Furio Silvestri M.D. & Rossana Bussani M.D.

  2. Cardiovascular Department, University of Trieste Medical School, Cattinara Hospital, Trieste, Italy

    Gianfranco Sinagra M.D.

Authors
  1. Furio Silvestri M.D.
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  2. Gianfranco Sinagra M.D.
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  3. Rossana Bussani M.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rossana Bussani M.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, Department of Cardiac, University of Padua, Padova, 35121, Italy

    Cristina Basso

  2. Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, Department of Cardiac,, University of Padua, Padova, 35121, Italy

    Marialuisa Valente

  3. Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, Department of Cardiac,, University of Padua, Padova, 35121, Italy

    Gaetano Thiene

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Silvestri, F., Sinagra, G., Bussani, R. (2013). Cardiac Metastases. In: Basso, C., Valente, M., Thiene, G. (eds) Cardiac Tumor Pathology. Current Clinical Pathology. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-143-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-143-1_11

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-142-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-143-1

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