Apoptosis in primary cardiac tumours

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is now recognised as an important cellular event during both normal development and specific disease progression. Apoptosis has been suggested to play a critical role in several cardiovascular diseases, but has not yet been identified as a major influence in primary cardiac tumours. A retrospective review of the achieved material at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital revealed seven patients with cardiac myxoma and one with a tumour originating from the crista terminalis, from January 2002 to December 2002. The medical chart, surgical pathology reports and microscopic slides were available in all cases. All patients, including eight cardiac myxomas and one tumour from crista terminalis, were assessed for apoptosis by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick-end labelling assay. In this study, apoptosis is well documented in all seven myxoma and has even been reported in tumour from the crista terminalis. Interestingly, apoptosis appears related to the nature of the cell properties rather than the incidence of embolism. In conclusion, apoptosis is important in the progression of the primary cardiac tumours, but the mechanism of cardiac tumour regression still remains uncertain.