Hyaluronic acid in a cardiac myxoma: a biochemical and histological analysis

Disaccharide analysis of glycosaminoglycans synthesized by cardiac myxoma cells in tumor tissues and in cell culture

We analyzed the main disaccharide units of glycosaminoglycans synthesized by cardiac myxoma cells in vivo and in cell culture using high-performance liquid chromatography after 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrasolone labeling. Cardiac myxoma tissues contained large amounts of chondroitin-6-sulfate (46%) and hyaluronic acid (32%), along with some chondroitin-4-sulfate (13%), chondroitin (6%), and much less dermatan sulfate (3%). Cultured cardiac myxoma cells synthesized mainly chondroitin-6-sulfate. The abundant glycosaminoglycans in myxoma tissues may make up the characteristic friable gelatinous matrix which is favorable for embolism and tumor cell growth.

Are patients with neoplasia at an increased risk for cardiac myxomas?

A case-control study was undertaken to assess whether a significant association exists between the presence of a neoplasm or malignancy and the presence of a cardiac myxoma. We identified 13 patients seen at our institution between 1935 and 1990 whose autopsies revealed a cardiac myxoma that was undetected during the patient's lifetime. For each patient four control subjects were selected among the autopsied patients who had never had a cardiac myxoma; these were matched for age at death, gender, and year of autopsy. The institutional medical records and autopsy reports revealed that 46% of the patients and 65% of their controls had a neoplasm diagnosed prior to or at autopsy. The estimated odds ratio was 0.34 (95% confidence interval, 0.05 to 1.84). There was insufficient evidence to conclude that an association exists between the presence of a neoplasm and the presence of a cardiac myxoma (P = .2722).