PRIMARY CARDIAC ANGIOSARCOMA - CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTIC PROBLEMS

Primary cardiac malignancy is very rare. The most common malignant car diac tumours are angiosarcomas. Their diagnosis is sometimes difficult because of their nonspecific clinical presentation. Two cases of prim ary cardiac angiosarcomas that were not diagnosed clinically due to un usual presentations are presented. Pathological diagnosis was missed i n one case because of lack of thorough examination and sampling of sub mitted specimens. Cardiac symptoms in a patient with primary angiosarc oma of the heart may not always be present. In the presence of unusual serious systemic symptomatology, such as multisystemic hemorrhagic ph enomena, disseminated infiltrative pulmonary lesions or peripheral tum our associated with subtle heart abnormalities, the possibility of car diac angiosarcoma should be included in the differential diagnosis.