ORIGINAL ARTICLE
PRKAR1A in the Development of Cardiac Myxoma
A Study of 110 Cases Including Isolated and Syndromic Tumors
Joseph J. Maleszewski, MD,* Brandon T. Larsen, MD, PhD,* Nefize Sertac Kip, MD, PhD,w
Mathieu C. Castonguay, MD,z William D. Edwards, MD,* J. Aidan Carney, MD, PhD,*
and Benjamin R. Kipp, PhD*
Abstract: Cardiac myxoma usually occurs as a solitary mass, but
occasionally develops as part of a familial syndrome, the Carney
complex (CNC). Two thirds of CNC-associated cardiac myxomas exhibit mutations in PRKAR1A. PRKAR1A mutations
occur in both familial and sporadic forms of CNC but have not
been described in isolated (nonsyndromic) cardiac myxomas. A
total of 127 consecutive cardiac myxomas surgically resected at
Mayo Clinic (1993 to 2011) from 110 individuals were studied.
Clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings were reviewed. Of
these, 103 patients had isolated cardiac myxomas, and 7 patients
had the tumor as a component of CNC. Age and sex distributions were different for CNC (mean 26 y, range 14 to 44 y,
71% female) and non-CNC (mean 62 y, range 18 to 92 y, 63%
female) patients. PRKAR1A immunohistochemical analysis
(IHC) was performed, and myxoma cell reactivity was graded
semiquantitatively. Bidirectional Sanger sequencing was performed in 3 CNC patients and 29 non-CNC patients, to test for
the presence of mutations in all coding regions and intron/exon
boundaries of the PRKAR1A gene. IHC staining showed that all
7 CNC cases lacked PRKAR1A antigenicity and that 33 (32%)
isolated cardiac myxomas were similarly nonreactive. Of tumors
subjected to sequencing analysis, 2 (67%) CNC myxomas and 9
(31%) non-CNC myxomas had pathogenic PRKAR1A mutations. No germline mutations were found in 4 non-CNC cases
tested. PRKAR1A appears to play a role in the development of
both syndromic and nonsyndromic cardiac myxomas. Routine
IHC evaluation of cardiac myxomas for PRKAR1A expression
may be useful in excluding a diagnosis of CNC.
Key Words: Carney syndrome, cardiac tumors, molecular diagnostics
(Am J Surg Pathol 2014;38:1079–1087)
From the *Division of Anatomic Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester,
MN; wDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Geisinger Medical
Center, Danville, PA; and zDepartment of Pathology, Dalhousie
University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Conflicts of Interest and Source of Funding: The authors have disclosed
that they have no significant relationships with, or financial interest
in, any commercial companies pertaining to this article.
Correspondence: Joseph J. Maleszewski, MD, Mayo Clinic, 200 First
Street S.W., Rochester, MN 55905 (e-mail: maleszewski.joseph@
mayo.edu).
Copyright r 2014 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Am J Surg Pathol
Volume 38, Number 8, August 2014
BACKGROUND
Cardiac myxoma is a benign neoplasm that typically
arises as an isolated mass in the left atrium. A minority
(3% to 10%) of the tumors occur as a component of the
Carney complex (CNC; also known as myxoma syndrome).1,2 Patients with cardiac myxoma in the context of
CNC have higher rates of tumor recurrence, may develop
other syndromic manifestations, and have potentially affected family members.1,3,4 For these reasons, the ability
to distinguish between isolated and syndromic tumors is
important clinically.
CNC is often characterized by the constellation
of myxomas (cardiac or otherwise), endocrinopathy
(Cushing syndrome and acromegaly), and spotty skin
pigmentation (particularly of the vermilion border of the
lips). Clinical diagnosis rests on the demonstration of a
set of features in a given patient (Table 1).5 In practice,
the question of CNC appropriately arises with a diagnosis
of cardiac myxoma, and if other manifestations are not
present, both patient and physician are left in a “waitand-see” position.
In 2000, Kirschner et al6 described inactivating
mutations within the PRKAR1A gene in patients with
CNC. PRKAR1A encodes for cAMP-dependent protein
kinase type I-a regulatory subunit and functions as a
canonical tumor-suppressor gene.7 By providing a molecular mechanism for tumorigenesis, this finding helped
to dispel a notion (held by some) that the cardiac myxoma
may not be a neoplastic process.8 Subsequently, Yin
et al,9 in a compelling functional study, described
abnormal cardiac development and myxoma formation in
a murine PRKAR1A knockout model. Genetic testing for
mutations in PRKAR1A is available, but such mutations
are present only in about two thirds of CNC cases.10
Several investigators have evaluated nonsyndromic
(isolated) cardiac myxomas for alterations in the
PRKAR1A gene. Mantovani et al11 evaluated 29 such
tumors and found no PRKAR1A mutations by direct
sequencing of polymerase chain reaction products amplified from tumor DNA. In 2005, Mabuchi et al12 reported 5 patients with sporadic cardiac myxomas without
mutations of the PRKAR1A gene. Fogt et al13 studied 13
non-CNC myxomas for alterations in the region of the
PRKAR1A gene and found no loss of heterozygosity or
band changes suggestive of microsatellite instability,
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TABLE 1. Diagnostic Criteria for CNC*5
Major criteria
Cardiac myxoma
Other myxoma (eg, cutaneous, mucosal, breast)
Spotty skin pigmentation or blue nevus
Cushing syndrome (PPNAD)
Acromegaly (GH-producing pituitary adenoma)
Large cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumor
Psammomatous melanotic schwannoma
Osteochondromyxoma
Supplemental criteria
Affected first-degree relative
Inactivating mutation of the PRKAR1A gene
*Diagnosis requires 2 major criteria or 1 major+1 supplemental criterion.
GH indicates growth hormone; PPNAD, primary pigmented nodular adrenocortical disease.
concluding that isolated cardiac myxomas are not genetically related to tumors arising in CNC. All 3 studies
concluded that PRKAR1A does not play a role in nonsyndromic cardiac myxoma genesis. Moreover, several
investigators have found a number of cytogenetic changes
in isolated cardiac myxomas, although they found no
evidence to implicate the genes at the 2p16 or 17q22-24
loci, including PRKAR1A.2,14,15
This pathogenetic difference in CNC and non-CNC
cardiac myxomas appeared to be a reliable way of clinically discriminating between the 2 entities. We hypothesized that differential expression of the PRKAR1A
protein, as measured immunohistochemically, might
provide an efficient and relatively inexpensive means of
stratifying cardiac myxomas into syndromic and isolated
varieties.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Case Selection and Review
Institutional surgical pathology archives were
searched for patients who had undergone surgical excision of cardiac myxoma(s) at Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
MN, between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 2011.
Patient age (at the time of surgery) and sex were recorded
as well as the size(s) and location(s) of the tumor(s). The
medical record for each patient was thoroughly reviewed
for features of the CNC (Table 1) and, when present, was
documented. The study was approved by the Mayo Clinic
Institutional Review Board and Biospecimens Subcommittee.
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was carried out in a Dako Autostainer Plus as follows.
The tissue sections were treated with Peroxidase Blocking
Reagent (Dako, Carpinteria, CA) for 5 minutes, washed
with 1 Wash Buffer (Dako), and treated with Background Sniper (Biocare Medical, Concord, CA) for
10 minutes. The primary antibody for PRKAR1A clone
6C7 (Origene, Rockville, MD) was used at 1:8000, diluted
in Background Reducing Antibody Diluent (Dako), and
incubated for 60 minutes at room temperature. After
washing once in Wash Buffer, the sections were incubated
in a mouse MACH3-HRP 2-step system (Biocare Medical) for 20 minutes each. The slides were washed 3 times
with 1 Wash Buffer between steps and before applying
Betazoid DAB (Biocare Medical) for 5 minutes (used for
colorimetric visualization). Counter staining with hematoxylin followed by dehydration in increasing concentrations of ethyl alcohol and xylene was performed before
cover slipping.
Stained slides were semiquantitatively scored for
reactivity by 3 cardiovascular pathologists (J.J.M.,
B.T.L., and M.C.C.). Both neoplastic and non-neoplastic
(myocardium or tumor macrophages) cells were assigned
a score of 0 (no reactivity), 1+ (weak reactivity), or 2+
(strong reactivity).
PRKAR1A Gene Sequencing
All cases were deidentified before somatic and
germline testing, maintaining only whether they were
CNC-associated or isolated in type. One hematoxylin and
eosin–stained section and 10 unstained, 5-mm-thick tissue
sections were prepared on glass slides from the FFPE
blocks in cases in which sufficient tissue was available for
testing. Areas of myxoma and normal tissue of >60%
purity were each selected by a cardiovascular pathologist
(J.J.M.) marking the hematoxylin and eosin–stained
template slide. The corresponding unstained slides were
placed over the marked template slide and macrodissected
(approximately 0.6 cm2 of tissue) using a sterile scalpel.
DNA was extracted from dissected tissues using a
QIAamp DNA FFPE Tissue Kit (Qiagen, Germantown,
MD) as recommended by the manufacturer. Bidirectional
Sanger sequencing was performed for all 10 coding exons
and intron/exon boundaries of the PRKAR1A gene (NM
212472.1) using standard protocols and an ABI 3730
DNA Analyzer (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA).
RESULTS
Immunohistochemistry
Patient Age and Sex
Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue
blocks containing cardiac myxoma were cut (4-mm-thick
tissue sections) from 110 patients. In cases in which >1
tumor block was present, the block containing the most
tumor cells was used. Tissue sections were deparaffinized
in xylene, dipped in decreasing concentrations of ethyl
alcohol, and rehydrated in distilled water. Antigen retrieval for PRKAR1A protein was performed by placing
slides in preheated citrate as the retrieval solution in a
steamer at 981C for 30 minutes. The staining procedure
The study included 127 cardiac myxomas (Fig. 1)
from 110 individual patients. Seven patients met the
clinical criteria for a diagnosis of CNC. The remaining
103 patients had an isolated cardiac myxoma without
additional manifestations of CNC. The CNC cohort had
a mean age of 26 years (range, 14 to 44 y) at the time of
first recognition of their cardiac myxoma and included 5
(71%) women (Table 2). The non-CNC cohort had a
mean age of 62 years (range, 18 to 92 y) at the time of
recognition of their tumor and included 65 (63%) women.
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PRKAR1A in Cardiac Myxomas
FIGURE 1. Methodology flow chart. The flow of specimens through IHC and molecular testing is diagrammed. Note that before
molecular testing, the samples were lumped into cohorts and deidentified.
Features of CNC
Of the 7 patients who met clinical criteria for a diagnosis of CNC, 5 (71%) had multiple cardiac myxomas.
Four patients (57%) had skin freckling (ephelides), 4 had
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cutaneous myxomas, 3 (43%) had a family history of
cardiac myxoma in a first-degree relative, and 3 had
Cushing syndrome. One patient (14%) had blue nevi and
another had a large cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumor of the
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TABLE 2. Clinical Features of CNC-associated and Isolated
Cardiac Myxomas
Clinical Feature
CNC-associated
(n = 7)
Isolated
(n = 103)
26
14-44
5 (71)
62
18-92
65 (63)
5 (71)
3 (43)
0 (0)
0 (0)
3
4
4
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
Age* (y)
Mean
Range
Female sex (n [%])
Features of CNC (n [%])
Multiple cardiac myxomas
Family history of cardiac
myxoma
Cushing syndrome
Ephelides
Extracardiac myxoma
Blue nevi
Calcifying testicular tumor
(43)
(57)
(57)
(14)
(14)
Of 22 total
myxomas
Location(s) (t [%])
Left atrium
Right atrium
Left ventricle
Right ventricle
Metachronous myxomas
(t [%])
11
2
2
7
3
(50)
(9)
(9)
(32)
(14)
(0)
(0)
(0)
(0)
(0)
Of 105 total
myxomas
90
11
2
2
0
(86)
(10)
(2)
(2)
(0)
*At first diagnosis of cardiac myxoma.
n indicates number of patients; t, number of tumors.
testis. None of the patients with isolated cardiac myxomas had any of the aforementioned clinical features (or
any other feature listed in Table 1).
Tumor Characteristics
Of the 7 CNC patients, 5 had multiple distinct
cardiac myxomas noted at initial surgery. Three of these
patients had additional surgeries (1 in 2 cases and 2 in the
third case) for resection of metachronous myxomas. Of
the 103 patients in the non-CNC cohort, 2 underwent
additional resection of recurrent myxoma; both were
thought to have incomplete resection at the time of initial
surgery and experienced recurrence at the site of original
resection. None in the CNC cohort had metachronous
lesions. The left atrium was the most common origin both
for the 22 CNCs and for the 105 non-CNC myxomas
(50% and 86%, respectively; Table 2). Cardiac myxomas
in the CNC cohort were also found in the right ventricle
(32%), right atrium (9%), and left ventricle (9%). Isolated cardiac myxomas also arose in the right atrium
(10%) and, to a lesser extent, in the left ventricle (2%)
and right ventricle (2%). Myxomas ranged in size from
0.3 to 5.5 cm in the CNC cohort and from 0.2 to 9.0 cm in
the non-CNC cohort.
Immunohistochemistry
Myxoma cells showed strong (2+) reactivity with
antibodies directed against PRKAR1A in 70 (68%) of
105 isolated cardiac myxomas, whereas none of the 22
CNC-associated tumors exhibited reactivity (Figs. 2, 3).
There was no identifiable staining of neoplastic cells in
any of the CNC-associated tumors and in 33 (32%) of the
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isolated cardiac myxomas. The sensitivity of a negative
immunohistochemical (IHC) result for a diagnosis of
CNC was 100%, with a specificity of 68%; the negative
predictive value of a positive IHC study was 100%,
whereas a positive predictive value of a negative IHC
study was 18%. Neither neoplastic nor non-neoplastic
cells exhibited equivocal (1+) reactivity. It is noteworthy
that normal myocardium was present in 6 (86%) of the
cases of CNC-associated tumors and 71 (69%) of the
non–CNC-associated tumors and was strongly reactive
with PRKAR1A antibodies in all instances (Table 3).
PRKAR1A Gene Sequencing
DNA sequences of the PRKAR1A gene (Fig. 4)
were obtained in 3 CNC-associated cases and 29 nonCNC cases. A pathogenic mutation was identified in 2
(67%) of the CNC specimens (Table 4). Of the mutations
found in the CNC cohort, 1 was a single nucleotide deletion (c.682del) resulting in a frameshift mutation, and
the other was a previously described silent mutation that
affects the last base of exon 10 and is predicted to alter
splicing.16 Somatic sequencing of the PRKAR1A gene was
successful in 29 non-CNC cases, 9 (31%) of which harbored a pathogenic mutation. Five (56%) of the 9 had
deletions resulting in frameshift mutations, 3 were substitutions producing/inducing either a stop codon (nonsense) or a misssense mutation, and a single case had a
duplication resulting in a frameshift mutation (Fig. 5). It
should also be noted that 1 patient (case 6, Table 4) had
what appeared to be a 12 base pair (bp) homozygous
deletion, suggesting that this tumor may harbor a 12 bp
deletion on one allele and a larger undetectable deletion
on the other allele. This would affect primer binding sequences and ultimately result in sequencing of only the
1 allele containing the 12 bp deletion.
To determine whether PRKAR1A mutations identified in non–CNC-associated myxomas were somatic or
germline in nature, adjacent normal myocardium (when
present) was isolated and Sanger sequenced for
PRKAR1A gene alterations. Four of the 9 non–CNCassociated cases had sufficient adjacent normal tissue for
germline DNA testing. No mutations, including the mutation identified in the adjacent myxoma, were found in
the PRKAR1A gene in the germline DNA from these
patients.
DISCUSSION
Isolated (nonsyndromic) cardiac myxomas have
clinically important differences from their syndromic
counterparts that are associated with the CNC. Isolated
cardiac myxomas are generally associated with a low rate
of recurrence and an apparent lack of implications for
family members, compared with CNC-associated myxomas. In contrast, it is important to emphasize that the
gross and histologic features of cardiac myxomas do not
differ between the 2 types.17 Testing of the surgical
specimen by IHC would not only provide an ideal way of
assessing the prospect of a familial tumor but may serve
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PRKAR1A in Cardiac Myxomas
FIGURE 2. PRKAR1A IHC in a CNC-associated cardiac myxoma. A, A photomicrograph of the specimen at low power exhibits the
robust reactivity of the adjacent normal myocardium with antibodies directed against PRKAR1A. B, A high-power photomicrograph exhibits the lack of reactivity seen in the neoplastic (myxoma) cells, although the intratumoral histiocytes are still strongly
reactive.
FIGURE 3. PRKAR1A IHC in isolated cardiac myxomas. Photomicrographs of the specimens exhibit the 2 patterns of staining seen
in the isolated cardiac myxoma cohort. A and B, Strong reactivity of the neoplastic (myxoma) cells seen at low (A) and high power
(B). C and D, An isolated cardiac myxoma lacking reactivity of the neoplastic (myxoma) cells with antibodies directed against
PRKAR1A protein. The intratumoral histiocytes are strongly reactive in both instances.
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TABLE 3. PRKAR1A IHC in CNC-associated and Isolated
Cardiac Myxomas
Type
CNC-associated (n [%])
Isolated (n [%])
PRKAR1A IHC+
0 (0)
70 (68)
PRKAR1A IHC
7 (100)
33 (32)
as a resource-efficient screen, indicating which patients
may benefit from additional genetic testing.
PRKAR1A in Tumorigenesis and Clinical
Implications
In previous publications, investigators have concluded that isolated cardiac myxomas do not share the
same genetic underpinnings as those arising in the setting
of CNC.11–15 This observation provided the rationale for
evaluating PRKAR1A protein expression within the tumor as a possible means for distinguishing between the 2
types. Our data support such an approach, as IHC
demonstration of loss of PRKAR1A protein expression
was evident in all cardiac myxomas excised from
individuals meeting diagnostic criteria for CNC. Moreover, staining was all-or-none, with no equivocal (1+)
reactivity.
Interestingly and unexpectedly, the current study
also showed that loss of protein expression was also observed in 32% of isolated cardiac myxomas. The implications of this novel observation are 3-fold. First, and
contrary to current dogma, the PRKAR1A protein may
play a role in at least a subset of clinically nonsyndromic
cardiac myxomas. Second, the demonstration of retained
protein expression in a surgically resected myxoma may
be useful for excluding a diagnosis of CNC in that patient. Third, the loss of protein expression cannot be
equated with a diagnosis of CNC.
In the current study, the lack of corresponding
mutations within the PRKAR1A gene in adjacent nonneoplastic tissue strongly suggests that somatic mutations
in PRKAR1A occur outside the context of CNC and do
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not simply represent clinically unrecognized CNC. This
conclusion is at odds with the previously held notion that
isolated and syndromic cardiac myxomas do not share the
same genetic underpinnings. This idea was based on
evaluation of the PRKAR1A gene in relatively small series
of isolated cardiac myxomas, and none evaluated the
functional status of the gene immunohistochemically or
otherwise.11–13 In addition, the extent to which the gene
was interrogated was not clearly stated.
Although PRKAR1A mutations appear to account
for the loss of PRKAR1A protein by IHC in a subset
(9 of 29) of our non-CNC cases, the lack of identifiable
mutations in the remaining PRKAR1A-nonreactive cases
suggests that other mechanisms may also contribute to
their pathogenesis. Loss of demonstrable protein expression could be a manifestation of involvement at the
gene level (either coding or regulatory modification), the
epigenetic level (DNA hypermethylation), or the protein
level (posttranscriptional modification).
First, alterations in transcriptional regulators or
regulatory sites may interfere with PRKAR1A expression. Indeed, mutations in areas away from the
PRKAR1A gene have been reported in CNC (or variants
thereof).4,18 Second, deep intronic (>30 bp away from the
coding regions) alterations may alter transcript splicing or
protein expression. Third, it is known that large deletions
or duplications, likely not detectable by Sanger sequencing, comprise approximately 2% of genetic alterations in
PRKAR1A. Fourth, epigenetic changes (including hypermethylation), mRNA processing issues, or posttranslational protein modification could explain the loss
of PRKAR1A expression. This could account for the
discordance of lost protein antigenicity in our 20 nonsyndromic cases for which a mutation was not identified.
It is important to note that, although PRKAR1A
expression was lost in all CNC tumors tested in this study,
this does not necessarily imply that alterations in the
PRKAR1A gene are the reason behind this. Although
allelic tumor-suppressor loss is an attractive molecular
mechanism that likely explains some cases, complex
FIGURE 4. Diagram of the PRKAR1A gene. The PRKAR1A gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 17. Of the 10 exons
examined, mutations were found in 8 (arrows).
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TABLE 4. PRKAR1A Mutations Found in CNC-associated and Isolated Cardiac Myxomas
Case
Mutation
CNC-associated cardiac myxomas
1
c.682del
2
c.891G > Aw
Isolated cardiac myxomas
3
c.138delC
4
c.289C > T
5
c.241G > T
6
c.494_502+3del
7
c.514delG
8
c.522_523delCT
9
c.503G > C
10
c.892-10_905del
11
c.1128dupT
Exon
Protein
Type
Effect
8
10
p.R228Efs*13
p.E297E
Deletion
Silent
Frameshift
Splice site
3
4
4
6
7
7
7
11
12
p.M47Wfs*82
p.R97*
p.E81*
p.I165_G168delinsS
p.N172Ifs*5
p.F174Lfs*4
p.G168A
Deletion
Substitution
Substitution
Deletion
Deletion
Deletion
Substitution
Deletion
Duplication
Frameshift
Nonsense
Nonsense
Splice site
Frameshift
Frameshift
Missense
Splice site
Frameshift
p.V377Cfs*50
wPreviously described pathogenic mutation.
interactions from other areas of the genome probably also
play a role in tumorigenesis.4 Indeed, some tumors arising
in the setting of CNC have been shown not to exhibit
allelic loss of the PRKAR1A gene.19
Limitations
First and foremost, the size of our CNC cohort was
relatively small. This was related primarily to the rarity of
the syndrome and the lack of ready availability of testable
FIGURE 5. Pherigrams of the tumor DNA sequences in the PRKAR1A gene. A, A substitution in at least 1 of the tumor alleles at
nucleotide 241 (G > T), results in a missense mutation. B, A deletion of nucleotides CT at nucleotides 522 and 523 in exon 7 leads
to a frameshift mutation. Reference sequences are provided along the top of each panel.
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FIGURE 6. Potential diagnostic algorithm for cardiac myxomas. IHC surveillance for PRKAR1A expression could possibly allow for
cost-effective stratification of patients into those who would likely benefit from additional germline genetic testing. If the tumor is
negative for PRKAR1A by IHC, germline testing may be useful. If the tumor is positive for PRKAR1A by IHC, it is unlikely to be
occurring in the setting of CNC.
material in these cases. Quantity and quality of nucleic acid
was also a limiting factor, with adequate DNA found in
only 26% of the non-CNC cohort and in only 43% of the
CNC cohort. The scant quantity of evaluable DNA may
have been limited in some cases because of the inherent
paucicellularity of cardiac myxomas. In addition, the
quality of the nuclear material may have been compromised
by formalin fixation. Although blood or fresh (nonfixed)
tissue is optimal for polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing, this was not available in our study
patients. Lack of adjacent normal tissue for evaluation
further limited the ability to distinguish somatic from
germline mutations. Nevertheless, the absence of a matching mutation in the germline of all 4 tested nonsyndromic
cases with mutations in their tumor DNA is compelling
evidence that these do represent truly somatic mutations.
CONCLUSIONS
This investigation, to our knowledge, provides the
first evidence in support of a role for PRKAR1A in the
development of clinically nonsyndromic (isolated) cardiac
myxomas, at both genetic and protein levels. IHC testing
of cardiac myxomas may be a cost-effective strategy for
determining whether germline genetic testing may be
beneficial (Fig. 6). Although our CNC cohort was rather
small (7 patients), the complete lack of immunoreactivity
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of the neoplastic cells in these cases appears to indicate
excellent sensitivity (100%) for a diagnosis of CNC, despite its relatively low specificity (68%). Likewise, the
negative predictive value of a positive IHC study was
100%, whereas a positive predictive value of a negative
IHC study was quite low (18%). Accordingly, it is possible that surveillance could be reduced or eliminated
entirely in the setting of a tumor that is immunoreactive
with antibodies directed against PRKAR1A.
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PRKAR1A in Cardiac Myxomas
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