Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2011 Jul 6:6:89.
doi: 10.1186/1749-8090-6-89.

Ectopic cervical thymoma in a patient with myasthenia gravis

Ti Hei Wu  1 , Jong Shiaw Jin, Tsai Wang Huang, Hung Chang, Shih Chun Lee
Affiliations
Case Reports

Ectopic cervical thymoma in a patient with myasthenia gravis

Ti Hei Wu et al. J Cardiothorac Surg. .

Abstract

Ectopic cervical thymoma is rare and is often misdiagnosed as a thyroid tumor or other malignancy. Ectopic thymic tissue can be found along the entire thymic descent path during embryogenesis. However, a thymoma arising from such ectopic thymic tissue is extremely rare. Herein we report a patient with ectopic cervical thymoma and myasthenia gravis (MG) and discuss the management.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the chest showed a tumor mass (black arrow) at the lower pole of the left thyroid gland (white arrow). The fat plane (arrowhead) between the thyroid gland and the tumor was clear.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Photography of transcervical thymomectomy illustrating one well-encapsulated tumor located between the upper pole of the left thymus gland and lower pole of the left thyroid gland.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photomicrographys (hematoxylin and eosin staining). (A) Lobules separated by thick fibrous bands (× 40). (B) Microscopic findings of transition between lymphocyte-rich area and the lymphocyte-poor oval or spindle-shaped epithelial cell components, compatible with a WHO type AB thymoma (× 400).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Choi H, Koh SH, Park MH, Seung HK. Myasthenia gravis associated with ectopic cervical thymoma. J Clin Neurosci. 2008;15:1393–1395. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2007.06.018. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tommaso CM, Fausto B, Vito D'A. Myasthenia gravis, psychiatric disturbances, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and lichen planus associated with cervical thymoma. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1996;111:486–487. doi: 10.1016/S0022-5223(96)70461-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jaretzki A, Steinglass KM, Sonett JR. Thymectomy in the management of myasthenia gravis. Semin Neurol. 2004;24:49–62. doi: 10.1055/s-2004-829596. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Oh YL, Ko YH, Ree HJ. Aspiration cytology of ectopic cervical thymoma mimicking a thyroid mass. A case report. Acta Cytol. 1998;42:1167–1171. - PubMed
    1. Chan JK, Rosai J. Tumors of the neck showing thymic or related branchial pouch differentiation: a unifying concept. Hum Pathol. 1991;22:349–367. doi: 10.1016/0046-8177(91)90083-2. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types