OBJECTIVETo investigate the correlation of cytokeratin pan (CKP), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and microvessel density (MVD) to spiral CT manifestations of thymoma.

METHODSEighty-four thymoma patients were underwent spiral CT examination, and 40 of the patients also had enhanced CT examination. All the CT findings were carefully reviewed to analyze their correlation to the expressions of CKP, VEGF and MVD.

RESULTSThe enhancement on spiral CT images increased with the levels of VEGF expression and MVD counting (P<0.01). Significant correlations were observed between VEGF expression, MVD counting and such spiral CT findings as lobular contours, cusp-like or sawtooth-like margins and tumor invasions of the pleural membrane, pericardium and great vessels (P<0.05). CKP expression showed no obvious correlation to these findings by spiral CT.

CONCLUSIONSpiral CT can reflect the pathological characteristics of thymoma, and may serve as a noninvasive modality for preoperative evaluation of thymoma.