Preliminary data suggest that the validity of this tool is supported by expert concurrence, its overall reliability is high, and its clinical use is acceptable. Acknowledgements: The authors

would like to thank Colleen Lettvin, Terry Throckmorton, and Sarah Holmer for their cooperation in this study. We also thank Catherine Currier-Buckingham and Sharon Cormier for administrative support. selleck kinase inhibitor Funding Statement Funding/Support: The Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical authors have no funding disclosures. Footnotes Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The authors have completed and submitted the Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal Conflict of Interest Statement and none were reported.
Calcified amorphous tumor of the heart (cardiac CAT) Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical is a rare non-neoplastic cardiac mass that mimics malignancy on

imaging and can cause symptoms due to flow obstruction or embolization of calcific fragments. We report a 57-year-old female with multiple medical problems affected by cardiac CAT. The echocardiogram showed a 2 x 1.7 cm right atrial mass. Under Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the clinical diagnosis of cardiac myxoma, a mass resection was performed. Microscopic examination of the resected mass showed nodular calcified amorphous debris with admixed degenerated fibrin and focal chronic inflammation. At the 1-year follow-up, the patient was free of disease. We performed a literature review of 16 previously reported cases. Histologically, a cardiac CAT consists of calcification and eosinophilic amorphous material in the background of dense collagenous fibrous tissue. A review of these cases shows a wide range of age at diagnosis and slight female predominance. The patients are either asymptomatic at presentation or complain of shortness of breath. The

tumors have Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical been found in all chambers of the heart, most commonly in the left ventricle. The sizes of the tumors range from 0.17 to 4 cm, with 62.5% of the tumors being mobile. Among the nine cases with documented follow-up study, all but one was free of disease and only one case of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical relapse was recorded. In 17-DMAG (Alvespimycin) HCl conclusion, cardiac CATs are frequently asymptomatic at presentation, size is equal to or less than 4 cm, they can be located in all four chambers and are usually mobile, and they may relapse when not completely excised. Keywords: calcified tumor, cardiac tumor, non-neoplastic Introduction Calcified amorphous tumor of the heart (cardiac CAT) is a rare non-neoplastic cardiac tumor that may be confused with a primary cardiac neoplasm, such as a cardiac myxoma, in clinical presentation. The tumor may be an incidental finding on imaging, or imaging may have been warranted due to symptoms of flow obstruction or embolization of calcific fragments. Here we report a case of a cardiac CAT and describe its characteristics. A review of the literature of 16 previously reported cases is also included.