Fetal cardiac tumors. Case series: Importance of prenatal diagnosis and perinatal impact

BACKGROUND: Fetal cardiac tumors are sporadic findings in fetal ultrasound with an incidence of 1 case per 10,000 live births. Rhabdomyomas are the most common cardiac tumors in intrauterine life (60-86%) followed by fibroids and teratomas. They almost always have spontaneous regression, can cause hemodynamic alterations and increase perinatal morbidity and mortality; in addition to its important association with the tuberous sclerosis complex, a genetic disease that presents with epilepsy and cogniti ve deficit. OBJECTIVE: To report the first Mexican series of cases of prenatal detection of rhabdomyomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective study consisting of the review of the records of all fetuses with prenatal diagnosis of cardiac tumors registered from January 2007 to December 2017 at the Ángeles Lomas Hospital. All patients underwent second-level ultrasound and advanced prenatal and postnatal echocardiography. RESULTS: Seven cases were studied, most of them with single tumors. In one case there were hemodynamic alterations during the fetal period that caused his death. In two cases, tuberous sclerosis was confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first series of Mexican cases of fetal cardiac tumors. The findings were similar to those reported in the world literature, except that more cases of single tumors were found than multiple tumors. The size of the tumor, the number and the location can predict the perinatal prognosis and, especially, the possibility of tuberous sclerosis.