Cardiac sarcomas are malignant, or cancerous. Tumors are considered to be either primary tumors or secondary tumors. A primary tumor is the original site of tumor growth. A secondary tumor originates from another tumor elsewhere in the body. Primary tumors of the heart are present in 0.001 to 0.28 percent of autopsies in the general population.
Cardiac sarcoma is a primary malignant tumor.
Primary tumors of the heart occur rarely, and over 75 percent of primary cardiac tumors are benign, or non-cancerous. Thus, cardiac sarcoma is very rarely seen. The symptoms of heart tumors will vary, depending on the location of the tumor. Cardiac sarcomas, most frequently, are a type of sarcoma called angiosarcoma. Approximately 25 percent of angiosarcomas occur inside the heart chamber, resulting in obstruction of the inflow or outflow of blood in the right atrium.