Age and treatment disparities in survival of primary malignant cardiac tumors: an analysis of over 40 years and 500 patients

BACKGROUND: Primary malignant cardiac tumors (PMCTs) are rare and tend to have a poor prognosis, due to their aggressive biological behavior and the inadequate expertise with the disease. This article compares the survival of patients with PMCT subtypes in the United States across age and treatment groups. METHODS: Data of 529 patients diagnosed with PMCTs were analyzed. Chi-squared test was used to assess significance of the differences between proportions in demographic and tumor characteristics by age and treatment. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate survival from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) follow-up data. RESULTS: Survival rates for PMCTs differed significantly between age groups, with patients younger than 20 years surviving significantly longer than those older than 80 years. The median survival times of all patients with PMCTs were 22.5, 11, 5, and 1 month for ages less than 20, 20–50, 51–80, and greater than 80 years, respectively (global log-rank P=0.0026). In the treatment cohort, for all tumors [hazard ratio (HR) 1.52, P<0.001], sarcomas (HR 1.83, P=0.002), and other tumors (HR 2.24, P=0.017), survival was lower in patients who did not receive treatment than in those who received only surgery. Survival after diagnosis of sarcoma was lower in patients who received radiotherapy only than in those who received surgery only (HR 1.49, P=0.046). However, there was no significant association between treatment and survival for lymphoma and mesothelioma. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that PMCTs have limited treatment options and poor patient survival, especially for elderly patients and patients who receive no treatment. And patients with PMCTs of any age, whether treated or not, have poor survival rates. Techniques for early diagnosis and treatment may be necessary. Surgical treatment should have a higher priority for future treatment of patients with sarcomas.