title: Thymic hyperplasia in a patient with Graves' disease.
abstract: Hyperplastic changes of the thymus may be found in patients with Graves' disease. However, this rarely presents as an anterior mediastinal mass, particularly among adults. In this report, we describe a 32-year old woman with Graves' disease and hyperthyroidism. During medical evaluation and treatment for her hyperthyroidism, a large anterior mediastinal mass was incidentally discovered. A cytological study of the lesion via computed tomogram-guided fine needle biopsy could not make a definitive diagnosis and suggested the possibility of a thymoma, which led to a surgical exploration. However, the final pathological diagnosis of the surgically removed tissue was thymic hyperplasia. The relationship between Graves' disease and thymic changes is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center Hospital, 125, Lih-Der Road, Pei-Tou District, Taipei, Taiwan. lhhsu@mail.kfcc.org.tw
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Tsou
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000473:pathology*