title: Imaging of an invasive malignant thymoma on PET Scan: CT and histopathologic correlation.
abstract: Thymomas are common primary mediastinal neoplasms. They can be benign or malignant. The diagnosis of malignant thymomas is based on capsular invasion, cellular atypia and distant metastases. We present a case of invasive malignant thymoma as diagnosed on PET and CT scan with histologic correlation and review of literature. A seventy year old Asian man presented with cough and dyspnea. A CT scan showed an anterior mediastinal mass, and a PET scan showed a hypermetabolic mass in the corresponding location. Resection of the mass revealed a minimally invasive thymoma based on evidence of capsular invasion. PET scan proved invaluable in correctly diagnosing, staging the lesion, and excluding any extramediastinal involvement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA. sbagga@tufts-nemc.org
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bagga
authors.forename: Evan M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Bloch
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013945:Thymoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*