Growth of hepatocellular carcinoma into the right atrium. A case of antemortem diagnosis with magnetic resonance imaging of the heart.

We report the unusual case of a 54-year-old man with a right atrial mass (detected by two-dimensional echocardiography) associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. The cardiac mass, following magnetic resonance imaging of the heart, was proved to be due to a direct extension of the liver tumour, via the inferior vena cava, up to the right atrial cavity. We wish to stress that the availability of magnetic resonance imaging renders possible the antemortem diagnosis of cardiac metastasis due to malignant tumours.