Humans ; Thymoma/pathology* ; Thymus Neoplasms/pathology*

A carcinoid tumor of the thymus combined with thymoma in a 62-year-old man is described. The mediastinal tumor had been present for 13 years and was associated with pure red cell aplasia. Carcinoid tumor occupied the central two-thirds of the tumor, consisting of nests and trabeculae of monotonous round cells, which ultrastructurally showed many intracytoplasmic dense-core granules. Typical spindle cell type thymoma surrounded the carcinoid area. Clinico-pathologic findings of this unique case suggested that the carcinoid tumor developed within a preexisting thymoma, illustrating a possibility of neuroendocrine differentiation of thymic epithelial cells.
Carcinoid Tumor/*pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary/*pathology ; Thymoma/*pathology ; Thymus Neoplasms/*pathology

Cell Differentiation ; Choristoma ; pathology ; Humans ; Soft Tissue Neoplasms ; pathology ; Thymoma ; pathology ; Thymus Neoplasms ; pathology

Humans ; Pathology, Molecular ; Prognosis ; Thymoma ; diagnosis ; pathology ; Thymus Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology

Carcinoma ; classification ; pathology ; Consensus ; Humans ; Thymoma ; classification ; pathology ; Thymus Neoplasms ; classification ; pathology ; World Health Organization

Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Situs Inversus ; complications ; pathology ; Thymoma ; diagnosis ; pathology

For the purpose of investigating the pattern of E-cadherin (E-CD) expression in thymomas, 72 cases were immunostained using monoclonal antibody (HECD-1) and microwave-enhanced immunohistochemical method on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections. The thymomas were classified according to modified Muller-Hermelink classification. The spindle-shaped, medullary type tumor epithelial cells in medullary (3 cases) and composite type (20 cases) thymomas rarely expressed E-CD except in focal areas showing microcystic change observed in 8 cases. Meanwhile, the cohesive epithelioid tumor cells in every case of well-differentiated thymic carcinomas (WDTC) (29 cases) expressed E-CD. The epithelial cells in cortical type (13 cases) expressed stronger E-CD compared with those of organoid type (7 cases). In cases of WDTC admixed with cortical type, we observed increasing expression of E-CD as the tumor epithelium forms cohesive sheets. We could not find any loss of E-CD expression in invasive foci of the 11 cases of high-staged WDTC examined. Since the results of our study show a strong correlation between E-CD expression and epithelioid morphology of the tumor, E-CD seems to play a major role as a morpho-regulatory factor rather than as a suppressor of invasion in organotypic thymomas.
Adolescence ; Adult ; Aged ; Cadherins/immunology ; Cadherins/analysis* ; Female ; Human ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Middle Age ; Neoplasm Staging ; Thymoma/pathology ; Thymoma/classification ; Thymoma/chemistry* ; Thymus Neoplasms/pathology ; Thymus Neoplasms/classification ; Thymus Neoplasms/chemistry*

Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine ; pathology ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; Humans ; Neoplasm Staging ; Thymoma ; classification ; pathology ; Thymus Neoplasms ; classification ; pathology ; World Health Organization

Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) and hypogammaglobulinemia are paraneoplastic syndromes that are rarer than myasthenia gravis in patients with thymoma. Good syndrome coexisting with PRCA is an extremely rare pathology. We report the case of a 50-year-old man with thymoma and PRCA associated with Good syndrome who achieved complete PRCA remission after thymectomy and postoperative immunosuppressive therapy, and provide a review of the pertinent literature.
Agammaglobulinemia ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Myasthenia Gravis ; Paraneoplastic Syndromes ; Pathology ; Red-Cell Aplasia, Pure* ; Thymectomy ; Thymoma

BACKGROUND: Thymectomy was known as an effective treatment modality of myasthenia gravis. In this paper, we analyzed the result of thymectomy and the factors affecting the postoperative symptom improvement. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We analyzed the medical records of 50 patients who received the thymectomy for myasthenia gravis from January 1997 to December 2001. RESULT: 39 patients showed symptom improvement. The effect ofthymectomy as a treatment is 78%. There was no statistically significant correlation between postoperative improvement and Sex, Age, the Weight of thymic tissue, preoperative symptom duration, and preoperative mestinon dosage. However, the thymic pathology and low grade preoperative symptoms were affecting the postoperative prognosis. CONCLUSION: Thymic hyperplasia showed good prognosis compared to thymoma. Low grade preoperative symptoms (Group I or IIA) also showed good prognosis. So, early thymectomy is recommendable for the good treatment results of myasthenia gravis.
Humans ; Medical Records ; Myasthenia Gravis ; Pathology ; Prognosis ; Pyridostigmine Bromide ; Thymectomy* ; Thymoma ; Thymus Hyperplasia