Huge thymoma mimicking functional class III manifestations in a COPD patient: A case report

Thymoma is a thymic epithelium neoplasm and the most common primary anterior mediastinal tumor. Thymic epithelial tumors are quite rare. Thymus is the maturation site for T lymphocytes and thus contributes significantly to the adaptive immune system.This case is about a 52 year old woman whose very large thymoma caused progressive dyspnea over a course of several years (NYHA functional class III and MRC breathlessness score of grade 4). Thymectomy was done and the symptoms were ceased immediately after the operation. The diagnosis for this patient got delayed for a few years because of the similarity of the symptoms to COPD manifestation. As myasthenia gravis is the most common paraneoplastic syndrome associated with thymoma, myasthenia gravis was ruled out in this patient by means of repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) and titrage of acetylcholine receptor antibody. The length of the mass reached 17 cm.

Keywords:

Thymoma , Thymectomy , Dyspnea , Thoracic Mass ,