Thymic lipofibroadenoma: A case report

Abstract

Lipofibroadenoma (LFA) is an epithelial tumor. It has been seen rarely in the thymus, and only a handful of cases have been reported. LFA is usually seen in the anterior mediastinum and is defined as a coalescence of epithelial thymic, adipose, and fibrotic tissue. We present a 30-year-old female who presented due to an unrelated traffic accident. An incidental mass was found in her left anterior superior mediastinum. After performing a complete excision, a histologic examination of the excised mass revealed it to be LFA of the thymus, which is extremely rare. The follow-up period was uneventful. LFA is a slow-growing benign tumor and is very similar to fibroadenoma of the breast. The etiology and clinical findings are yet to be well-defined. It was only seen in men in the prior cases. But recent cases, including this one, have also reported female patients. The tumor is mainly observed in the anterior mediastinum, which was also the case in our patient. The gold standard of diagnosis is pathologic examination. Our examination showed strands and nests of thymic parenchyma, including Hassall corpuscles, which separated fibro adipose tissue. Thymectomy is the treatment of choice. It can be performed by either video-assisted thoracic surgery or open surgery. We performed open surgery. The most important prognostic factor for this tumor is staging.

Keywords: Case report; Incidental tumors; Lipofibroadenoma; Pathology; Thymus.

Fig. 1

The axial contrast-enhanced CT scan of the chest reveals a well- defined anterior mediastinal mass in close proximity to the great vessels.

Fig. 2. (

A) Macroscapy of mediastinal mass with yellowish solid cut surface. (B–D) H&E stained sections of tumor reveal dense fibrosis and adipose tissue entrapped strands and nests of thymic parenchyma.