Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41379044›Full record

ArticleJACC. Case reports2026

Intracardiac and Transesophageal Echocardiography-Guided Biopsy of a Large Epicardial Mass.

Osamah Badwan, Kimberly Chow, Taha Hatab, Simrat Kaur, Nicholas Kamp, John L McAfee, Melissa Piliang, Juan Xing, Serge Harb, Samir Kapadia

Abstract readCase Reports
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in JACC. Case reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Osamah BadwanDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Kimberly ChowDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Taha HatabDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Simrat KaurDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Nicholas KampDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
John L McAfeePathology & Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Melissa PiliangPathology & Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Juan XingPathology & Laboratory Medicine Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Serge HarbDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Samir KapadiaDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular, and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Electronic address: kapadis@ccf.org.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMerkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive neuroendocrine malignancy with high metastatic potential. Cardiac involvement is rare and usually occurs late in the disease course. FIRST-IN-HUMAN/EARLY REPORTS SUMMARY: A 76-year-old man with recurrent MCC was found to have a large epicardial mass encasing the right coronary artery. Surgical and external percutaneous biopsy approaches were considered high risk. DISCUSSION: A transcatheter biopsy was performed using multimodality imaging. Intracardiac echocardiography enabled real-time visualization, while transesophageal echocardiography provided higher resolution to confirm accurate forceps positioning. Diagnostic tissue was successfully obtained, confirming recurrent MCC and informing subsequent oncologic therapy. NOVELTY: This appears to be the first description of transcatheter biopsy of an epicardial mass guided by both intracardiac and transesophageal echocardiography. TAKE-HOME MESSAGES: Multimodality imaging can facilitate safe biopsy of select cardiac masses. Tissue confirmation remains important when management decisions depend on histology.

Indexed as

cancercardiac magnetic resonancecoronary angiographyechocardiographyhybrid imagingthree-dimensional imaging

Identifiers

PMID41379044
PMCPMC12881267

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.