Heart myxoma develops oncogenic and metastatic phenotype

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Pathology
• Oncology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Heart myxomas are often considered benign but can recur, causing cardiac dysfunction.
• Carney's complex is frequently associated with heart myxomas.
• Recurrence of myxomas highlights the need to understand their underlying biology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if cardiac myxomas can acquire a metastatic phenotype similar to malignant cancers.
• To profile key proteins associated with malignancy in heart myxomas and surrounding tissues.
• To compare these profiles with non-cancer heart tissue and triple-negative breast cancer.

Main Methods:

• Protein profiling of seven cardiac myxoma samples, surrounding tissues, and controls.
• Evaluation of oncogenes (c-MYC, K-RAS, H-RAS), metabolic factors (HIF-1α, p53, PPAR-γ), and EMT proteins (fibronectin, vimentin, β-catenin, SNAIL, MMP-9).
• Statistical analysis including univariate and multivariate methods (Kruskal-Wallis, Dunn's, PCA).

Main Results:

• Heart myxomas and surrounding tissues showed significantly higher expression of c-MYC, p53, vimentin, and HIF-1α compared to non-cancer heart tissue.
• These findings indicate the presence of oncogenes and malignancy-related proteins in myxoma and adjacent areas.
• The expression patterns were comparable to those observed in triple-negative breast cancer biopsies.

Conclusions:

• c-MYC, HIF-1α, p53, and vimentin show potential as biomarkers for detecting malignancy in cardiac myxomas.
• These proteins may aid in identifying myxomas with a higher risk of aggressive behavior or recurrence.
• Further research is warranted to validate these biomarkers in clinical settings.