Treatment of malignant primary cardiac lymphoma with tumor resection using minimally invasive cardiac surgery

BACKGROUND: Primary cardiac lymphoma (PCL) is extremely rare and progresses rapidly. The treatment of PCL has not yet been established. Unlike lymphoma that arises from other organs, PCL causes cardiovascular events. We report the complete remission (CR) of PCL after tumor resection using minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS) and chemotherapy. CASE PRESENTATION: The patient was a 79-year-old man who visited our hospital with chief complaints of weight loss and leg edema. A 40 × 30 mm mobile pedunculated tumor continuous with the right ventricular heart muscle was present in the right atrium upon echocardiography and extended cardiac surgery was difficult to perform. Tumor embolism-induced sudden death was prevented and a pathological diagnosis was obtained by making a 4-cm skin incision, and tumor resection with MICS was performed through a right fourth intercostal thoracotomy with a cardiopulmonary system. The histopathological diagnosis was diffuse large B cell malignant lymphoma. Eight cycles of postoperative rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) therapy were performed. Three years after surgery, the tumor was not visible on imaging and CR was maintained. CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights that tumor resection using MICS is effective for avoiding the risk of sudden death. This technique was useful for the diagnosis and treatment of a malignant cardiac tumor in an elderly patient that required a difficult extended cardiac surgery. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13019-018-0778-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.