Thymoma
Thymoma refers to a tumor, which originates from the thymus. It involves any kind of thymic epithelial cell apart from lymphocytes which are generally abundant and usually not neoplastic. Thymoma is generally benign, and recurrently encapsulated. At times, when it is occasionally malignant, then in that case, it is invasive. As it is, distant metastases are rather rare. Malignant lymphomas, which involve the thymus, such as lymphosarcoma, or Hodgkin’s disease should not be considered as thymoma. Thymoma is a rather uncommon tumor, which is best known for its link with neuromuscular disorder myasthenia gravis.
Around one third of all the people with thymoma have symptoms as a result of the compression of surrounding organs through an expansive mass. Now, this might take the form of a superior vena cava syndrome, dysphagia, cough or chest pain.
Similarly, one third has thymoma detected as they carry an associated autoimmune disorder. As it is, the most common situation in this group is that of myasthenia gravis, where ten to fifteen percent are linked with a thymoma; patients with myasthenia are regularly screened for thymoma. The other associated autoimmune conditions include pure red cell aplasia as well as thymoma with combined immunodeficiency as well as hypogammaglobulinemia.
Some rare involvements that have been suggested are Addison’s disease, acute pericarditis, agranulocytosis, ulcerative colitis, alopecia areata, Cushing’s disease, myocarditis, hemolytic anemia, limbic encephalopathy, pernicious anemia, nephrotic syndrome, polymyositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, panhypopituitarism, stiff person syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, sarcoidosis, sensorimotor radiculopathy and thyroiditis.
While a thymic mass has been identified, the diagnosis has been confrmed by way of histologic exam. In cases where, thymoma is suspected, CT/CAT scan is usually performed for estimating the size, as well as degree of the tumor and may be biopsied with the help of a CT-guided needle.
Surgery is believed to be the mainstay in case of treatment. In case the tumor is rather malignant and quite large, then chemotherapy might be required for shrinking the tumor as in before the surgery is attempted. In case the tumor had been benign and had been removed completely, then no further therapy is required. The removal of thymus in case of adults does not seem to induce an acute immune deficiency. In case of children, however, the added care, as well as scrupulous vaccination is essential to protect from the infections. Malignant tumors might require an additional treatment with the help of radiotherapy and for the recurrence with chemotherapy, in case a lifetime dose of the radiation has been delivered to the area of tumor.