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Salgueiro FR, Cunha P, Miranda D, et al. Clear Cell Carcinoma of the Thymus: An Improbable Enemy. Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2021;8(3):002224doi: 10.12890/2021_002224.
Salgueiro, F. R., Cunha, P., Miranda, D., Pereira, T., Pontes, F., Monteiro, J., & Caetano, A. (2021). Clear Cell Carcinoma of the Thymus: An Improbable Enemy. European journal of case reports in internal medicine, 8(3), 002224. https://doi.org/10.12890/2021_002224
Salgueiro, Fábio Rêgo, et al. "Clear Cell Carcinoma of the Thymus: An Improbable Enemy." European journal of case reports in internal medicine vol. 8,3 (2021): 002224. doi: https://doi.org/10.12890/2021_002224
Salgueiro FR, Cunha P, Miranda D, Pereira T, Pontes F, Monteiro J, Caetano A. Clear Cell Carcinoma of the Thymus: An Improbable Enemy. Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2021 Feb 26;8(3):002224. doi: 10.12890/2021_002224. eCollection 2021. PMID: 33768067; PMCID: PMC7977052.
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Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2021 Feb 26;8(3):002224. doi: 10.12890/2021_002224. eCollection 2021.

Clear Cell Carcinoma of the Thymus: An Improbable Enemy.

European journal of case reports in internal medicine

Fábio Rêgo Salgueiro, Paulo Cunha, Diana Miranda, Tatiana Pereira, Filipa Pontes, Joana Monteiro, Ana Caetano

Affiliations

  1. Medical Oncology Department, Portuguese Oncology Institute of Coimbra Francisco Gentil, Coimbra, Portugal.
  2. Internal Medicine Department, Coimbra University Hospital Centre, Coimbra, Portugal.

PMID: 33768067 PMCID: PMC7977052 DOI: 10.12890/2021_002224

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Thymic clear cell carcinoma is the most uncommon subtype of thymic carcinoma, with 20 cases reported worldwide.

CASE DESCRIPTION: We present the case of a 61-year-old female with dyspnoea and chest pain for 2 days. Computed tomography (CT) angiography showed pulmonary thromboembolism and the existence of mediastinal and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, the largest infracarinal with an inferior axis of 25 mm, and also, micronodules on the left pulmonary parenchyma. The patient was admitted for aetiological assessment and underwent anticoagulant therapy. After a month, she had an ischaemic stroke, the sequelae of which proved to be fatal. The autopsy showed a mass in the superior-anterior mediastinum, with dimensions of 11×8×6 cm, corresponding to a thymus signet ring cell primary carcinoma. The immunohistochemistry study revealed that this mass was positive for AE1/AE3, CK5/6 and CK7.

CONCLUSION: The clinical, morphological and immunophenotypic diversity of this tumour makes its diagnosis a difficult multidisciplinary challenge, which requires a high level of clinical knowledge and accurate imaging and histological investigation.

LEARNING POINTS: Thymic clear cell carcinoma is a very rare entity with an aggressive and nonspecific clinical behaviour.There are no defined diagnostic criteria, although diagnosis could be established with histologic/cytology analysis.There are no clear guidelines for treatment, which can include highly invasive surgery and chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

© EFIM 2021.

Keywords: Thymic carcinoma; mediastinal tumour

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interests: The Authors declare that there are no competing interests.

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