title: Hypogammaglobulinemia and anemia 18 years after thymoma resection.
abstract: Immunodeficiency with a thymoma (Good's syndrome) is a rare condition occurring in 7% to 13% of patients with adult-onset hypogammaglobulinemia. In 80% of cases, hypogammaglobulinemia is detected within 5 years of the identification of the thymoma. A 70-year-old man was found to have hypogammaglobulinemia 18 years after a thymoma had been resected. Cellular immunophenotyping revealed there were no detectable B cells, decreased CD4+ cells, and increased CD8+ cells. Both CD4+ and CD8+ subsets expressed increased populations of CD38+ DR+ cells and CD45RO+ cells. The CD8+ CD28+ population was markedly reduced. Inducible cytokine production by the patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells revealed decreased IL-2, IL-10, and interferon-gamma production. These data suggest that patients with Good's syndrome have activated memory T cells that have dysregulated cytokine production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology/Immunology, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raschal
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Siegel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huml
authors.forename: G W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Richmond
mesh_terms: D000361:Agammaglobulinemia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D000740:Anemia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013577:Syndrome; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism; D013945:Thymoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000601:surgery*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines