Cardiac myxoma metastasized to the brain: potential role of endogenous interleukin-6.

Metastasis of a cardiac myxoma to the brain is extremely rare. We present the case of a 70-year-old man who had an atrial myxoma and two metastatic myxomas in the brain. The intracranial lesions were in fact diagnosed before the cardiac myxoma, since the patient developed hemiparesis before his cardiac symptoms occurred. Computerized tomography of the brain showed two high-density lesions, the larger of which was removed surgically. Follow-up computerized tomography revealed a progressive enlargement of the second lesion which was then resected. Histopathological examination showed all lesions to the benign myxomas. Interestingly, high concentrations of interleukin-6 were present in the patient's serum and cardiac myxoma. Interleukin-6 may possibly potentiate metastasis of cardiac myxoma.