Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia: a case report

Abstract Background Primary cardiac sarcomas are exceedingly rare, and they commonly result in nonspecific constitutional symptoms such as shortness of breath, weight loss, and anaemia-related fatigue and malaise. However, thrombocytopenia has very rarely been reported in association with cardiac tu...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guodong Zhang, Qing Gao, Shenglong Chen, Yu Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2019-02-01
Series:Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13019-019-0852-8
_version_ 1818189921973698560
author Guodong Zhang
Qing Gao
Shenglong Chen
Yu Chen
author_facet Guodong Zhang
Qing Gao
Shenglong Chen
Yu Chen
author_sort Guodong Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Primary cardiac sarcomas are exceedingly rare, and they commonly result in nonspecific constitutional symptoms such as shortness of breath, weight loss, and anaemia-related fatigue and malaise. However, thrombocytopenia has very rarely been reported in association with cardiac tumours, either benign or malignant. We report one case of primary cardiac synovial sarcoma continuous with the mitral valve, which was accompanied by severe thrombocytopenia, and the platelet counts returned rapidly to a normal range early after tumour excision and without any special therapies. Case presentation A 52-year-old male diagnosed with atrial myxoma with severe thrombocytopenia was admitted to our hospital. Blood analysis showed severe thrombocytopenia, whereas erythrocyte and leucocyte counts were within the normal range. A 50 × 35 mm mobile mass continuous with the mitral valve was found to be present in the left atrium upon echocardiography. Bone marrow aspiration and related examinations excluded thrombocytopenia caused by haematologic malignancies. The patient received a platelet transfusion, but platelet counts decreased quickly. Glucocorticoid therapy and immunoglobulin transfusion were also used, but were ineffective. Although the operation risk was high, tumour resection was performed via a median sternotomy with a cardiopulmonary bypass system. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was biphasic cardiac synovial sarcoma. Surprisingly, the platelet counts returned rapidly to a normal range early after tumour excision without any special therapies. The disappearance of the tumour from the annular region was confirmed on transthoracic echocardiography 6 days after surgery, and an FDG-PET scan performed 8 days after surgery showed no abnormal accumulation. Unfortunately, the patient died suddenly 6 months later without unknown cause. Conclusions We report that a rare primary cardiac synovial sarcoma case continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia; this provides further support for the awareness and diagnosis of primary cardiac synovial sarcoma. We also highlight that thrombocytopenia might be one rare symptom of a solid cardiac tumour but need more cases for support.
first_indexed 2024-12-11T23:50:30Z
format Article
id doaj.art-db62bcc860c04edb97a136d35e939f63
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1749-8090
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-11T23:50:30Z
publishDate 2019-02-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery
spelling doaj.art-db62bcc860c04edb97a136d35e939f632022-12-22T00:45:29ZengBMCJournal of Cardiothoracic Surgery1749-80902019-02-011411610.1186/s13019-019-0852-8Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia: a case reportGuodong Zhang0Qing Gao1Shenglong Chen2Yu Chen3Cardiac Surgery Department, Peking University People’s HospitalCardiac Surgery Department, Peking University People’s HospitalCardiac Surgery Department, Peking University People’s HospitalCardiac Surgery Department, Peking University People’s HospitalAbstract Background Primary cardiac sarcomas are exceedingly rare, and they commonly result in nonspecific constitutional symptoms such as shortness of breath, weight loss, and anaemia-related fatigue and malaise. However, thrombocytopenia has very rarely been reported in association with cardiac tumours, either benign or malignant. We report one case of primary cardiac synovial sarcoma continuous with the mitral valve, which was accompanied by severe thrombocytopenia, and the platelet counts returned rapidly to a normal range early after tumour excision and without any special therapies. Case presentation A 52-year-old male diagnosed with atrial myxoma with severe thrombocytopenia was admitted to our hospital. Blood analysis showed severe thrombocytopenia, whereas erythrocyte and leucocyte counts were within the normal range. A 50 × 35 mm mobile mass continuous with the mitral valve was found to be present in the left atrium upon echocardiography. Bone marrow aspiration and related examinations excluded thrombocytopenia caused by haematologic malignancies. The patient received a platelet transfusion, but platelet counts decreased quickly. Glucocorticoid therapy and immunoglobulin transfusion were also used, but were ineffective. Although the operation risk was high, tumour resection was performed via a median sternotomy with a cardiopulmonary bypass system. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was biphasic cardiac synovial sarcoma. Surprisingly, the platelet counts returned rapidly to a normal range early after tumour excision without any special therapies. The disappearance of the tumour from the annular region was confirmed on transthoracic echocardiography 6 days after surgery, and an FDG-PET scan performed 8 days after surgery showed no abnormal accumulation. Unfortunately, the patient died suddenly 6 months later without unknown cause. Conclusions We report that a rare primary cardiac synovial sarcoma case continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia; this provides further support for the awareness and diagnosis of primary cardiac synovial sarcoma. We also highlight that thrombocytopenia might be one rare symptom of a solid cardiac tumour but need more cases for support.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13019-019-0852-8Cardiac synovial sarcomaThrombocytopeniaTumour resection
spellingShingle Guodong Zhang
Qing Gao
Shenglong Chen
Yu Chen
Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia: a case report
Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiac synovial sarcoma
Thrombocytopenia
Tumour resection
title Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia: a case report
title_full Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia: a case report
title_fullStr Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia: a case report
title_full_unstemmed Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia: a case report
title_short Primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia: a case report
title_sort primary cardiac synovial sarcoma that was continuous with the mitral valve caused severe thrombocytopenia a case report
topic Cardiac synovial sarcoma
Thrombocytopenia
Tumour resection
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13019-019-0852-8
work_keys_str_mv AT guodongzhang primarycardiacsynovialsarcomathatwascontinuouswiththemitralvalvecausedseverethrombocytopeniaacasereport
AT qinggao primarycardiacsynovialsarcomathatwascontinuouswiththemitralvalvecausedseverethrombocytopeniaacasereport
AT shenglongchen primarycardiacsynovialsarcomathatwascontinuouswiththemitralvalvecausedseverethrombocytopeniaacasereport
AT yuchen primarycardiacsynovialsarcomathatwascontinuouswiththemitralvalvecausedseverethrombocytopeniaacasereport