title: Thymic carcinoma originating from the mid-posterior mediastinum.
abstract: An unusual thymic carcinoma in a 74-year-old woman is described. Initial chest CT revealed a mass at the mid-posterior mediastinum. Transbronchial fine needle biopsy of the mass failed to provide a definite diagnosis. The mass was treated as a malignant mediastinal tumour, and chemoradiotherapy was performed as initial treatment. The patient died 5 years after receiving primary treatment. The results of postmortem microscopic examination, including immunohistochemical study with CD5 antibody, were consistent with thymic carcinoma. This case is interesting in that the mid-posterior mediastinum is the site where thymic carcinoma is least likely to originate.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Ehime University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kadowaki
authors.forename: Hironobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Akihito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.forename: Takayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aramoto
authors.forename: Norifumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomioka
authors.forename: Jitsuo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Higaki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002828:Choristoma / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000473:pathology*; D013950:Thymus Gland