A case of thymic cyst with thymic hyperplasia

A 70-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for treatment of an anterior mediastinal tumor. Although he was asymptomatic, an abnormal shadow was visible on chest radiography. CT revealed a heterogeneous tumor located in the anterior mediastinum. On MRI, the tumor demonstrated low signal intensity...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNihon Kokyūki Gakkai zasshi = the journal of the Japanese Respiratory Society Vol. 41; no. 5; p. 336
Main Authors Yatsuyanagi, Eiji, Kusajima, Katsuyuki, Takezawa, Chikako
Format Journal Article
LanguageJapanese
Published Japan 01.05.2003
Subjects
Aged
Humans
Hyperplasia - complications
Hyperplasia - diagnosis
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Mediastinal Cyst - classification
Mediastinal Cyst - diagnosis
Thymus Gland - pathology
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Summary:A 70-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for treatment of an anterior mediastinal tumor. Although he was asymptomatic, an abnormal shadow was visible on chest radiography. CT revealed a heterogeneous tumor located in the anterior mediastinum. On MRI, the tumor demonstrated low signal intensity in T1-weighted images and high signal intensity in T2-weighted images. Laboratory data, including tumor markers, were mostly within the reference ranges. Although a CT-guided needle biopsy was performed, histologic diagnosis could not be confirmed. We resected the tumor with the thymus by median sternotomy. Histopathological examination demonstrated that the tumor was a multilocular thymic cyst with thymic hyperplasia and numerous lymphocytes. The lining epithelial cells gave positive reactions to immunohistochemical staining for carbohydrate antigen 19-9. Carcinoembryonic antigen and squamous cell carcinoma antigen levels in the cystic fluid were elevated. This case appeared to be an acquired thymic cyst with thymic hyperplasia. There are few reports of such cysts.
ISSN:1343-3490