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Cardiac Myxoma

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Pathology

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

  • 26 Accesses

Synonyms

Atrial myxoma; Myxomatous endothelioma

Definition

Cardiac myxoma is the most common primary cardiac tumor, mostly located in the atrial chambers, usually the left atrium. It is a benign neoplasm that consists of stellate, ovoid, or spindle cells embedded within a vascular myxoid matrix.

Initially myxomas were viewed as reactive lesions or organizing thrombi; however, their locations, genetics, and histology are consistent with a neoplastic process. Origin and histopathogenesis of cardiac myxoma remain controversial, the two main hypotheses suggesting an origin from multipotent mesenchymal cells or from neural endocardial tissue.

Clinical Features

  • Incidence and Clinical Presentation

    Primary cardiac tumors are rare, and their exact prevalence in the general population is not known. Most epidemiological data on primary cardiac tumors are based upon autopsy, surgical, or pathological series, with all the inherent bias, providing an estimated prevalence between 1 in 2000 and 2 in...

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References and Further Reading

  • Basso, C., Valente, M., & Thiene, G. (2013). Cardiac tumor pathology. New York: Springer Humana Press.

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  • Basso, C., Rizzo, S., Valente, M., & Thiene, G. (2016). Cardiac masses and tumours. Heart, 102, 1230–1245.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maleszewski, J. J., Larsen, B. T., Kip, N. S., Castonguay, M. C., Edwards, W. D., Carney, J. A., & Kipp, B. R. (2014). PRKAR1A in the development of cardiac myxoma: A study of 110 cases including isolated and syndromic tumors. The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 38, 1079–1087.

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  • Pucci, A., Gagliardotto, P., Zanini, C., Pansini, S., di Summa, M., & Mollo, F. (2000). Histopathologic and clinical characterization of cardiac myxoma. American Heart Journal, 140, 134–138.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Travis, W. D., Brambilla, E., Burke, A. P., et al. (2015). WHO classification of tumours of the lung, pleura, thymus and heart. Lyon: IARC Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padua Medical School, Padova, Italy

    Cristina Basso & Stefania Rizzo

Authors
  1. Cristina Basso
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  2. Stefania Rizzo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristina Basso .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands

    J.H.J.M. van Krieken

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Basso, C., Rizzo, S. (2020). Cardiac Myxoma. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5360-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5360-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28845-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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