SESSION TITLE: Disorders of the Mediastinum SESSION TYPE: Fellow Case Report Posters PRESENTED ON: 10/09/2018 01:15 pm - 02:15 pm INTRODUCTION: Thymic neuroendocrine tumors rarely occur as a mediastinal mass, with a reported incidence of 0.01-0.02/100,000. We present a case of thymic neuroendocrine tumor that had gone undiagnosed for 15 years. CASE PRESENTATION: 63 year-old female, lifelong nonsmoker, with past medical history of a mediastinal mass discovered incidentally 15 years ago, mesenteric plasmacytoma s/p colectomy in 2007, and anemia was admitted for new onset HFrEF. She complained of worsening dyspnea for the past few months, lower extremity edema, orthopnea, and gradual weight loss over the past few years. She denied chest pain, fever, chills, dizziness and syncope. She had undergone 2 biopsies of the mass in the past, but results were inconclusive. On physical exam, she was cachectic in appearance. Breath sounds were decreased on the left side. There was 4+ pitting edema of the lower extremities. Labs were remarkable for albumin of 2.6 and BNP of 2709. CXR demonstrated an opacification silhouetting the left mediastinum and heart border. CT of the chest showed a 16x13x10cm upper mediastinal centrally necrotic mass with mass effect on the heart and trachea. PFT was attempted, but the patient could only perform spirometry, which revealed severe restriction. She underwent CT-guided biopsy, which revealed thymic neuroendocrine tumor, typical carcinoid, positive for synaptophysin and chromogranin. Surgical resection of the mass was not possible as the mass was highly vascularized. CT angiogram of the chest demonstrated multiple vascular channels from the mass. Embolization of the right internal mammary artery supplying the mass was done, but the left-sided supply to the mass could not be embolized as the patient felt unwell. She was stable and was discharged with planned follow-up with IR to complete embolization and subsequent possible surgical debulking. DISCUSSION: Thymic neuroendocrine tumors are uncommon, accounting for approximately 5% of all thymic and mediastinal tumors, and are often discovered incidentally. Symptoms can range from asymptomatic to cough, dyspnea, chest pain, and possible endocrinopathies. CXR and CT are part of the initial workup, and diagnosis is confirmed by histological examination and immunohistochemical staining of biopsied tissue. More than half are positive for synaptophysin and chromogranin. Radical resection is the preferred treatment, but if not possible, no standard treatment has been defined as these cases are rare. Response to chemotherapy and radiation is poor. The patient in our case was not a candidate for surgery. CT angiogram identified vessels supplying the mass, and embolization was attempted successfully for one side of the vascular supply, and the other side was to be embolized on an outpatient basis. CONCLUSIONS: The rarity of thymic neuroendocrine tumors causes treatment to be complicated. If surgical resection is not possible, other approaches need to be considered. Reference #1: Lausi P, Refai M, Filosso P, et al. Thymic Neuroendocrine Tumors. Thoracic Surgery Clinics. 2014;24:327-332. Reference #2: Song Z, Zhang Y. Primary neuroendocrine tumors of the thymus: Clinical review of 22 cases. Oncology Letters. 2014;8:2125-2129. Reference #3: Bohnenberger H, Dinter H, Konig A, Strobel P. Neuroendocrine tumors of the thymus and mediastinum. Journal of Thoracic Disease. 2017;9:S1448-S1457. DISCLOSURES: No relevant relationships by Mona Alipour, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Jennifer Chiu, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Louis Gerolemou, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Nabil Mesiha, source=Web Response No relevant relationships by Ankur Mogla, source=Web Response
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