Metastatic Cardiac Tumor Demonstrated by 201Thallium Scan

A patient with bronchogenic carcinoma had an electrocardiogram that was initially thought to be consistent with myocardial infarction and possible left ventricular aneurysm. A heart scan with radioactive 201 thallium showed an area of sharply diminished uptake ("cold spot"); however, subsequent thoracotomy showed that this was caused by local pericardial and myocardial infiltration by tumor. This suggests a role for radioactive 201 thallium in the detection of cardiac metastatic tumors.