Autopsy of 54 cases of surgically excised cardiac myxomas. Investigation of their impact on immune response

Nektaria Michopanou; Nikolaos Schizas; Christos Charitos; Demetra Rontogianni; George Saroglou; Alkiviadis Vatopoulos; Rokeia Eltheni; Ioanna Pavlopoulou

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04535

Autopsy of 54 cases of surgically excised cardiac myxomas. Investigation of their impact on immune response

Heliyon. 2020 Jul 23;6(7):e04535. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04535. eCollection 2020 Jul.

Authors

Nektaria Michopanou¹, Nikolaos Schizas¹, Christos Charitos², Demetra Rontogianni³, George Saroglou⁴, Alkiviadis Vatopoulos⁵, Rokeia Eltheni¹, Ioanna Pavlopoulou⁵

Affiliations

¹ Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit, Evangelismos General Hospital, 45-47 Ipsilantou Street, 10676, Athens, Greece.
² Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, Evangelismos General Hospital, 45-47 Ipsilantou Street, 10676, Athens, Greece.
³ Pathology Department, Evangelismos General Hospital, 45-47 Ipsilantou Street, 10676, Athens, Greece.
⁴ Faculty of Nursing, School of Healthcare Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 123 Papadiamantopoulou street, 11527, Athens, Greece.
⁵ Faculty of Public Health, University of West Attica, 28 Agiou Spyridonos street, Egaleo, 12243, Athens, Greece.

Abstract

Introduction: The impact of cardiac myxomas on the immune response is still indefinite, although laboratory tests and histological findings suggest that there is a correlation between myxomas and inflammatory reaction.

Objectives: Our study speculates that cardiac myxomas are associated with inflammatory response and investigates potential elements of inflammation in the histopathological examination and biomarkers from laboratory tests.

Methods: It is a retrospective study and data were collected from a single center between May 2010 to May 2018. Autopsies and laboratory tests of 54 cases were analyzed.

Results: In 20,4% of the autopsies, inflammatory elements were identified. The neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) preoperatively is elevated in patients suffering from cardiac myxoma while its value is correlated to the tumor size.

Conclusions: Cardiac myxoma is an entity that affects the immune response of patients. The biomarker NLR could be utilized as a prognostic factor regarding enlarged cardiac myxomas. Future studies still need to be conducted in order to confirm the usefulness of this biomarker on cardiac myxomas.

Keywords: Biomarker; Cardiac myxoma; Cardiology; Immunology; Inflammatory response; NLR; Neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio; Pathology; Pathophysiology.