Multiple cardiac metastases from urothelial carcinoma case report

Neil Grech, William Camilleri, Alexander Borg

Cardiac metastases are rare and frequently remain undiagnosed due to the absence of clinical signs in the majority of cases. Malignancies found to most commonly metastasise to the heart include lung carcinoma, breast carcinoma and lymphoma, while urothelial carcinoma is a rare cause of cardiac metastasis. The patient presented with pyrexia, a rare presentation of metastatic cardiac involvement. Single metastatic lesions are mainly reported in the literature, while multiple metastatic deposits such as in this case are less common. A 74-year-old gentleman presented with frequent febrile spikes, a month after undergoing a nephroureterectomy for poorly differentiated urothelial carcinoma. No febrile source was identified, and a computed tomography identified two cardiac lesions. A transthoracic echocardiogram could not detect the cardiac lesions; therefore, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging was performed. Three spherical intramyocardial masses were noted at the basal septum, LV apex and the anteromedial papillary muscle. The lesions demonstrated signal characteristics suggestive of cardiac metastases (high fluid content, absence of fat, presence of a surrounding rim of increased extravascular space, absence of deformation within the masses) from the previously resected urothelial carcinoma. The patient was palliated, and he shortly succumbed to his condition. Urothelial carcinoma is an exceedingly rare cause of cardiac metastasis. CMR is an important imaging modality for localisation and characterisation of suspicious cardiac lesions, aiding in the diagnosis of cardiac metastasis.