Abstract
Thymoma is an epithelial neoplasm of the thymus, which commonly lies in the anterior mediastinum and, therefore, an intrathoracic origin is considered to be rare. This report presents a case of giant thymoma arising in the thoracic cavity. A 61-year-old male presented with a chronic cough and breathlessness. Chest CT revealed a well enhanced giant mass approximately 18 cm in diameter in the right thoracic cavity. FDG-PET showed that the SUVmax of the tumor was 5.0 in the center and almost 2.5 in the surrounding area. A trans- bronchial needle biopsy was performed to find atypical cells. Surgery was scheduled based on the radiological and histological findings. A well-defined giant mass in the thoracic cavity, measuring 18 × 14.5 × 11 cm had undergone expansive growth without apparent invasion. The tumor was completely resected without combined resection of the other organs. The weight of the tumor was 1350 g. The tumor was histologically diagnosed to be type AB thymoma according to the World Health Organization classification and Masaoka stage IIB.
Highlights
Thymoma is an epithelial neoplasm of the thymus, which commonly lies in the anterior mediastinum and ectopic thymomas account for only 4% of all thymomas [1]
This report presents a case of ectopic thymoma that presented as a giant intrathoracic tumor histologically diagnosed as type AB thymoma and Masaoka stage IIB
Ectopic thymomas have been reported in the neck, middle or posterior mediastinum, lung and pleura, a few reports have described giant intrathoracic tumors [2, 3]
Summary
Thymoma is an epithelial neoplasm of the thymus, which commonly lies in the anterior mediastinum and ectopic thymomas account for only 4% of all thymomas [1]. Most ectopic thymomas present as superior or inferior mediastinum tumors, intrathoracic origin was rare [1,2,3]. Surgery is the most effective treatment modality for thymomas, in some cases, it is difficult to excise due to involvement of surrounding organs or tumor size. This report presents a case of ectopic thymoma that presented as a giant intrathoracic tumor histologically diagnosed as type AB thymoma and Masaoka stage IIB. FDG-PET showed that the SUVmax of the tumor was 5.0 in the center and almost 2.5 in the surrounding areas (Figure 1). The postoperative course was uneventful, and there has been no evidence of recurrence 6 months after the surgery
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