Understanding cardiac cancer: Can it be cured?

The unchecked growth of cells in the heart or near it is defined as cardiac cancer. The cancer that begins in the heart is called primary cancer. It may then spread to other areas. While the treatment protocol includes chemotherapy and radiation, it cannot fully cure the disease.

There was this popular perception that cancer does not infect the heart. Cardiac cancer is not that common. Primary heart cancer is even rarer. It is also called a cardiac tumour. It begins as sarcoma, a type of cancer that affects the soft tissues in the body.

Cardiac or heart cancer is usually caused when cancer spreads from nearby body parts. This leads to secondary heart cancer. Most commonly, cancer from the breasts, gullet, skin, lungs and kidneys spreads to the heart. Cancer from the thymus gland in the heart, lymphatic system and blood may also spread to the heart.

It could be caused by radiation, exposure to certain toxic substances or hereditary factors. The possibility of certain genes leading to primary cancer is high in some people. A mutation in a gene may trigger this. This gene is known as Protection of Telomeres Protein 1, or POT1. This gene mutation can be passed from parent to child.

Why is heart cancer rare?
The heart is protected by connective tissue and muscle cells. Neither of these regenerates easily. Hence, they are more resistant to cancer. Cancer cells grow and multiply mainly in epithelial tissues. These tissues are more prone to mutations that trigger cancer. Most parts of the body are covered with epithelial tissues. Hence, cancer commonly affects the breasts, pancreas, lungs and skin.

Symptoms
A sudden heart attack is the main symptom of heart cancer. Shortness of breath and fatigue are other common symptoms.
1) High heart rate or irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)
2) Heart pain
3) Fainting
4) Pericardial effusion -- abnormal accumulation of fluid around the heart
5) Unexplained weight loss
6) Severe back pain
7) Coughing and spitting blood
8) Memory loss

Can heart cancer be treated?
Doctors say that chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or both, can help shrink the tumour in the heart and reduce symptoms. In cases where cancer has spread to the heart from other parts of the body, the primary cancer is treated first.

The size and location of the tumour, as well as the patient’s age and overall health, are essential factors in deciding treatment. Tumours can also be removed surgically. It is advisable to have such surgeries done in specialised centres, as they are highly complex.

In sporadic cases, the surgery involves removing the heart, operating on it and then restoring it through a process called auto-transplantation. As in some other heart surgeries, a machine is used to pump blood during the procedure. In some cases, a heart transplant may be performed. Doctors say that despite all these measures, heart cancer cannot be cured entirely.