Cardiac metastasis after squamous cell carcinoma of the base of tongue

Objectives: Metastases to the heart are rare. We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma of the base of tongue secondarily complicated with cardiac metastasis 6 months after surgical treatment resulted in successful local control. Methods: The lesion was found using computerized axial tomography in a patient with minimal cardiologic symptoms. Results: The patient died shortly due to Complications of his metastatic disease. No Curative treatment was possible. Conclusions: Cardiac metastasis should be suspected when new cardiovascular symptoms are observed in patients with a history of head and neck neoplasm. The prognosis of the condition typically is inevitably fatal. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.