Metastatic (secondary) tumors to the heart occur in about 5% of patients dying of cancer. Due to the silent nature of cardiac metastases, the diagnosis is often missed pre-mortem but rather found on autopsy. The most common malignancies spreading to the heart are cancers of the lung, breast, oesophagus, melanoma, and lymphoma. Head and neck cancers are noted to frequently metastasize to the cervical lymph nodes but are rare to cause distant metastasis, including to the heart. There are few case reports highlighting cardiac metastasis from oral cancers, most of such cases are from squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and retromolar trigone.
Here we present a case of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma to the heart was diagnosed during autopsy and on histopathological examination in a 30 year old young male who had carcinoma of left buccal mucosa, which was operated about 8 months back. Primary tumor was surgically removed completely, but there was no history of either radiotherapy or chemotherapy given preoperatively or postoperatively. The tumor had metastasized to the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys. It remained silent and caused sudden death of the patient. In the heart, the metastatic growth of squamous cell carcinoma was present on the anterior surface of right ventricle which was extending towards right atrium. On cut section of the growth, it showed firm to hard cavities containing cheesy material extending to the myocardium.
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2022: 6.012
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