title: Intramuscular myxoma associated with an increased carbohydrate antigen 19.9 level in a woman: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intramuscular myxoma is a rare benign soft tissue tumor. The lack of specific symptoms and widely used laboratory tests makes the diagnosis quite difficult. We present a case of an Intramuscular myxoma associated with an increased carbohydrate antigen 19.9 level. To the best of our knowledge, there have not been any reported cases of an association of Intramuscular myxoma with tumor markers in the literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 45-year-old Caucasian woman presented to our department for resection of a mass in her left groin area, discovered incidentally on a triplex ultrasonography of her lower extremities. The diagnosis of Intramuscular myxoma was confirmed on histopathology after the complete surgical excision of the tumor. On laboratory examination, the serum level of carbohydrate antigen 19.9 was found to be elevated, but it returned to normal six months after resection of the mass.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Carbohydrate antigen 19.9 is a tumor marker that increases in a variety of malignant and benign conditions. After the exclusion of all other possible reasons for carbohydrate antigen 19.9 elevation, we assumed a possible connection of carbohydrate antigen 19.9 elevation and Intramuscular myxoma, an issue that requires needs further investigation.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Propedeutic Surgery, University of Athens, Athens Medical School, Hippocration Hospital, Athens, Greece. tzinagb@yahoo.gr.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Theodorou
authors.forename: Eleftheria S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Kleidi
authors.forename: Georgia I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Doulami
authors.forename: Panagiotis G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Drimousis
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Larentzakis
authors.forename: Kostas
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toutouzas
authors.forename: Stylianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Katsaragakis