Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of the Heart: Case Report and Review of 46 Cases in the Literature

A rare case of cardiac malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is reported. A 55-year-old woman complained of palpitation due to atrial fibrillation. Echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and angiography demonstrated a tumor arising from the posterior wall of the left atrium. At surgery, the tumor was almost entirely resected and histologically defined as MFH. Neither chemotherapy nor irradiation was administered. Echocardiography revealed a local recurrence two months after the surgery and the patient died of advanced cachexy and heart failure 2 years later. The details of this case are presented with a review of the literature.(Internal Medicine 40: 1222-1226, 2001)