Fetal Cardiac Tumors: a Single-center Experience of 40 Cases

Objective: To determine the natural history and outcome of fetal cardiac tumors.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of all prenatally detected cases of cardiac tumors at a tertiary cardiac care center.

Results: Forty fetuses were identified to have one or several cardiac tumors in association with fetal hydrops (18%), ventricular obstruction (30%) and/or arrhythmia (13%). Of 33 cases with rhabdomyoma, three patients elected to terminate the pregnancy, four offspring died at birth and 26 (79%) survived. On follow-up, 95% of all live-born cases with rhabdomyomas were free of cardiac symptoms but 88% had tuberous sclerosis. All three fetuses with teratoma presented with hydrops and none of them survived. In contrast, all three fetuses with cardiac fibroma are alive and have a biventricular physiology. One fetus with a large atrial hemangioendothelioma died in early infancy. Fetal or neonatal death was associated with an earlier cardiac anomaly diagnosis, earlier delivery, larger tumor size and fetal hydrops at presentation.

Conclusions: The outcome of fetal cardiac tumors was predicted by the etiology and size of the cardiac mass and the presence of hydrops. Although most cardiac rhabdomyomas have a relatively benign perinatal course, the long-term prognosis is determined by the neurological manifestations associated with tuberous sclerosis.