Metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma to the heart diagnosed antemortem

Pancreatic tumors frequently metastasize widely, though it is rare to diagn ose pancreatic cardiac metastases in the antemortem state. We report an unu sual case of metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma to the fight atrium. Tran sesophageal echocardiography showed that the tumor was attached to the supe rior aspect of the right atrium, prolapsing through and obstructing the tri cuspid valve In diastole and retracting back into the right atrium during s ystole. The tumor was excised, and histologic examination confirmed the pre sence of moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with a papillary architec tural pattern and with desmoplastic stroma, features comparable to the orig inal primary pancreatic neoplasm.