Cardiac Tumors Diagnosis

That means we have more experience in your particular cardiac tumor than anywhere else in the state. And when you come to us for care, we start by ensuring you have a thorough and precise cardiac tumor diagnosis because that’s the key to creating the most effective treatment plan.

We understand that most of the patients who come to us have already had some diagnostic testing done. You may even already know you have a cardiac tumor, just not what type and whether or not it’s benign or malignant. Cardiac tumor diagnosis is complex and requires a highly skilled team of physicians working together and using the latest imaging technology to analyze your condition. And that’s exactly what you’ll get from the Cardiac Tumor Program at Emory, which is a unique collaboration between the renowned oncologists at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and specialty cardiologists of Emory Heart and Vascular Center.

Our team of cardiac tumor experts takes a multi-stage approach to ensure every patient gets a thorough and accurate cardiac tumor diagnosis. Because no two heart tumors are the same — even those that are the same type — your cancer will differ from another person’s. And it’s imperative we understand your tumor in order to properly treat it.

We know you’re anxious to move forward with treatment, but having a detailed cardiac tumor diagnosis is critical, and it won’t take long, we promise. In fact, many test results are often available the same day or the next day.

The first step to getting a cardiac tumor diagnosis is analyzing your symptoms and health history. Most heart cancers are secondary cancers, meaning they have metastasized from another part of the body. The cancers most likely to spread to the heart are breast, lung and skin (melanoma) cancer. Still, heart cancer, whether primary (originating in the heart) or secondary, is quite rare.

Next will come diagnostic imaging. The cardiac tumor experts at Emory use the latest computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to obtain detailed images of the heart and surrounding tissue. From there, our experienced physicians determine if a mass is solid and, if so, what type of tumor it’s most likely to be. Because cardiac tumors can’t be easily biopsied, our cardiologists and oncologists work in teams to ensure the most accurate diagnosis possible. It’s a bit like getting a second, third and more opinions all at the same time.

Once your cardiac tumor is surgically removed, we’ll then send a sample to the lab for testing. We can also send the sample for gene expression profiling, which can tell you how likely your cancer is to respond to different types of cancer therapies.