Heart cancer is an extremely rare form of cancer that is divided into primary tumors of the heart

Primary tumors of the heart

The primary tumors of the heart are tumors that arise from the normal tissues that make up the heart. This is in contrast to secondary tumors of the heart, which are typically either metastatic from another part of the body, or infiltrate the heart via direct extension from the surrounding...

 and secondary tumors of the heart.

Primary

Most heart tumors are benign myxoma

Myxoma

A myxoma is a tumor of primitive connective tissue. It is the most common primary tumor of the heart in adults, but can also occur in other locations....

s, fibroma

Fibroma

Fibromas are benign tumors that are composed of fibrous or connective tissue. They can grow in all organs, arising from mesenchyme tissue. The term "fibroblastic" or "fibromatous" is used to describe tumors of the fibrous connective tissue...

s, rhabdomyoma

Rhabdomyoma

A rhabdomyoma is a benign tumor of striated muscle. Rhabdomyomas may be either "cardiac" or "extracardiac" . Extracardiac forms of rhabdomyoma are subclassified into three distinct types: Adult type, Fetal type, and Genital type.Cardiac rhabdomyomas are the most common primary tumor of the heart...

s, and hamartoma

Hamartoma

A hamartoma is a benign, focal malformation that resembles a neoplasm in the tissue of its origin. This is not a malignant tumor, and it grows at the same rate as the surrounding tissues. It is composed of tissue elements normally found at that site, but which are growing in a disorganized mass...

s, although malignant sarcoma

Sarcoma

A sarcoma is a cancer that arises from transformed cells in one of a number of tissues that develop from embryonic mesoderm. Thus, sarcomas include tumors of bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, vascular, and hematopoietic tissues...

s (such as angiosarcoma

Angiosarcoma

Angiosarcoma is a malignant neoplasm of endothelial-type cells that line vessel walls. This may be in reference to blood or lymphatic vessels ....

 or cardiac sarcoma) have been known to occur.
In a study of 12,487 autopsies performed in Hong Kong seven cardiac tumors were found, most of which were benign. According to Mayo Clinic: "At Mayo Clinic, on average only one case of heart cancer is seen each year."

Notable cases

• Heart cancer is a candidate cause of Catherine of Aragon
  Catherine of Aragon
  Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
  
  's death
• Eric Carr
  Eric Carr
  Paul Charles Caravello , also known as Eric Carr, was an American musician, best known as drummer for the rock band Kiss. Caravello was selected as the new Kiss drummer after Peter Criss left in 1980...
  
  , drummer
  Drummer
  A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
  
   of rock band Kiss
  KISS (band)
  Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
  
  , died of complications brought on by heart cancer, including a brain hemorrhage.