Cardiac myxomas: causes, presentations, diagnosis, and management

Abstract

Cardiac myxomas (CM) are one of the most common benign tumors which are typical in adults with a yearly incidence of 0.5-1 case per million individuals. This review article includes discussions based on existing literature on the role of interleukin interactions in the pathophysiology of cardiac myxoma which can lead to embolic complications, aneurysms, and CNS involvement. The objective of this narrative review was to study the variable clinical presentations of cardiac myxoma, its detection and diagnosis involving multiple modalities like genetic and hematological testing, echocardiography, CT, and MRI, of which transoesophageal echocardiogram shows excellent precision with a 90% to 96% accuracy in diagnosing CM. Individuals with the Carney complex are prone to such neoplasia. Cardiac myxomas are challenging to diagnose due to the ambiguity of their differential with thrombi. Myxomas can also be diagnosed by tumor markers like interleukin-6 and endothelial growth factors. The management of CM includes surgical excision like median sternotomy and robotic minimally invasive surgery. The use of robotic surgery in CM increased from 1.8% in 2012 to 15.1% in 2018. Tumor recurrences are uncommon but can occur due to inadequate surgical resection.

Keywords: Cardiac myxoma; Recurrence; Surgery; Transthoracic echocardiography; Tumor.