Surgical resection of a giant thymolipoma causing respiratory failure: A case report

BACKGROUND Thymolipoma is a rare benign tumor arising from the anterior mediastinal thymus and is composed of mature fatty tissue and interspersed nonneoplastic thymic tissue. This tumor accounts for only a small percentage of mediastinal masses, and the majority of them are asymptomatic and found incidentally. To date, fewer than 200 cases have been published in the world literature, of which most excised tumors weighed less than 0.5 kg and the largest weighed 6 kg.CASE SUMMARY A 23-year-old man presented with a complaint of progressive breathlessness for 6mo. His forced vital capacity was only 23.6% of the predicted capacity, and his arterial partial pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide were 51 and 60 mmHg,respectively, without oxygen inhalation. Chest computed tomography revealed a large fat-containing mass in the anterior mediastinum that measured 26 cm × 20cm × 30 cm in size and occupied most of the thoracic cavity. Percutaneous mass biopsy revealed only thymic tissue without signs of malignancy. A right posterolateral thoracotomy was successfully performed to remove the tumor along with the capsule, and the excised tumor weighed 7.5 kg, which to our knowledge, was the largest surgically removed tumor of thymic origin. Postoperatively, the patient’s shortness of breath was resolved, and the histopathological diagnosis was thymolipoma. No signs of recurrence were observed at the 6-mo follow-up.CONCLUSION Giant thymolipoma causing respiratory failure is rare and dangerous. Despite the high risks, surgical resection is feasible and effective.

Assessment of multimodality therapy for thymoma

Background This study was designed to analyze the accuracy and reliability of several prognostic indicators for long-term survival of thymoma patients. Methods Data from 142 patients treated for thymoma at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital from January 1954 to January 2001 were retrospectively analyzed. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox＇s proportional hazards model test were used for single and multi-variable analyses respectively. The Log-rank test was used to compare survival between groups. Results The sizes and extent of the tumors were classified as I-IV according to the Masaoka clinical staging scale. Respective 5- and 10-year survival rates were： 93.8% and 79.2% in stage I, 79.3% and 55.2% in stage II, 53.1% and 34.4% in stage III, and no survivors in stage IV. Among 30 patients with associated myasthenia gravis, 19 had generalized myasthenia gravis and 11 had ocular myasthenia gravis; 5- and 10-year survival rates were 83.3% and 60.0%, respectively. The 5- and 10-year survival rates for 112 patients without myasthenia gravis were 53.6% and 42.0%, respectively. Eighty-four patients had radical resection and nine had palliative resection. Eighty-nine patients had radiotherapy and 55 patients had postoperative radiotherapy. Single or multi-variable analyses showed that the main prognostic indicators are Masaoka clinical staging, thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis, and the treatment method. Conclusions The most important indicators of long-term survival in thymoma are Masaoka clinical staging and the completeness of resection. The primary treatment method for thymoma should be wide tumor resection. Pre- and/or postoperative radio- and/or chemotherapy should be given according to individual treatment requirements.