Primary malignant cardiac tumors are represented by sarcomas and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. They are rare, affect mostly patients in the fourth decade of life and have a severe prognosis. Both the diagnosis and the treatment require a multidisciplinary approach, and the cardiologist plays a central role both in the diagnosis and in the follow-up. The prognosis may be improved by a careful planning of surgery and by the use of multimodality treatment, including complementary chemotherapy and radiation therapy. A strict follow-up must be planned even after apparently complete cure.
Keywords: cardiac lymphoma; cardiac malignancy; cardiac radiotherapy; cardiac sarcomas; cardiac tumors; chemotherapy; malignant cardiac tumors; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; sarcoma; surgery.