Faculty of Nursing, School of Healthcare Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 123 Papadiamantopoulou street, 11527, Athens, Greece
Alkiviadis Vatopoulos
Faculty of Public Health, University of West Attica, 28 Agiou Spyridonos street, Egaleo, 12243, Athens, Greece
Rokeia Eltheni
Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit, Evangelismos General Hospital, 45-47 Ipsilantou Street, 10676, Athens, Greece
Ioanna Pavlopoulou
Faculty of Public Health, University of West Attica, 28 Agiou Spyridonos street, Egaleo, 12243, Athens, Greece
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.
