- With Mayo Clinic medical oncologist
Timothy Moynihan, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Timothy Moynihan, M.D.
Timothy Moynihan, M.D.
"As a practicing medical oncologist, I meet with patients and families every day to help manage their course through this disease called cancer. This experience provides unique insight into the needs of cancer patients, their families and loved ones and brings into sharp focus the need for reliable information to be readily available in terms that can be easily understood." — Dr. Timothy Moynihan
Dr. Timothy Moynihan believes that providing consumers accurate, timely information on the broad, complex topic of cancer is the biggest challenge facing medical Web sites. As the guiding force behind our cancer coverage, he makes sure Mayo Clinic meets the test.
Dr. Moynihan, born in Las Vegas, N.M., but raised in Denver, is a consultant in medical oncology at Mayo Clinic and an associate professor at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hospice and palliative care medicine. He did his medical oncology training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and then went on to the University of Minnesota and St. Paul Regions Medical Center in St. Paul, Minn., for seven years before moving to Mayo Clinic in 1999. Dr. Moynihan is director of the palliative care program at Mayo Clinic and associate medical director of the Mayo Clinic hospice.
Dr. Moynihan currently serves as the education chair for the Department of Medical Oncology and fellowship program director. Four times he has been selected as Teacher of the Year in medical oncology and elected to the Teacher of the Year Hall of Fame. Past honors include distinguished clinical teacher at the University of Minnesota Medical School, best internist at the Medical College of Wisconsin and recipient of The Upjohn Achievement Award for Excellence in Medicine. He serves on several national committees for the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
"The Internet provides a ready source of information on a wide range of topics of interest to those affected by cancer," Dr. Moynihan says. "The difficulty is trying to decide which sites provide reputable information and which information is relevant to each individual patient. The long history and tradition of excellence associated with Mayo Clinic assures you that information provided will be reliable, up-to-date and comprehensive."
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Question
Heart cancer: Is there such a thing?
Is there such a thing as heart cancer?
Answer
from Timothy Moynihan, M.D.
Heart cancer is extremely rare. Although heart tumors do occur, the vast majority are noncancerous (benign). A 20-year review of 12,487 consecutive autopsies in Hong Kong identified only seven cases of cardiac tumor — an incidence of less than 0.1 percent — most of which were benign.
Cancerous (malignant) tumors of the heart are most often sarcomas, a type of cancer that originates in the soft tissues of the body. Occasionally, cancer can spread to the heart, such as from lymphomas that originate in the structures of the chest near the heart. Other cancers that can spread to the heart include melanomas and sarcomas.
Cancer can affect the heart in other ways, such as by causing damage to the heart valves (marantic endocarditis) or stiffening of the heart muscle (cardiac fibrosis). Cancer treatments can also affect the heart. Certain chemotherapy drugs — such as anthracyclines, high-dose cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), 5-FU, taxanes, trastuzumab (Herceptin) and IL-2 — can damage the heart. Radiation therapy directed at or near the heart can cause damage to the heart muscle and increase the risk of coronary artery disease later in life.
