[Cardiac rhabdomyoma and apoptosis: are regression controlled by the body?]

Abstract

Three rhabdomyomas detected in utero regressed after birth. These personal observations and others in medical literature show that regressions are more frequent than it was formerly believed, and are almost always observed during the first two years of life. The same clinical features of these involutions, histological appearances of apoptosis (programmed cell death), and the absence of inflammation suggest that spontaneous regressions may be controlled by the body. Regression of rhabdomyomas may be compared with other observations of benign and malignant tumours which show spontaneous involution in early life. Medical treatment is advisable even in the absence of life-threatening symptoms.