title: Thymic carcinoid tumor combined with thymoma--neuroendocrine differentiation in thymoma?
abstract: A carcinoid tumor of the thymus combined with thymoma in a 62-year-old man is described. The mediastinal tumor had been present for 13 years and was associated with pure red cell aplasia. Carcinoid tumor occupied the central two-thirds of the tumor, consisting of nests and trabeculae of monotonous round cells, which ultrastructurally showed many intracytoplasmic dense-core granules. Typical spindle cell type thymoma surrounded the carcinoid area. Clinico-pathologic findings of this unique case suggested that the carcinoid tumor developed within a preexisting thymoma, illustrating a possibility of neuroendocrine differentiation of thymic epithelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomic Pathology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul.
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Zo
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Jang
mesh_terms: D002276:Carcinoid Tumor / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000473:pathology*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000473:pathology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*