title: Pleural dissemination of thymoma showing tumor regression after combined corticosteroid and tacrolimus therapy.
abstract: We present the case of an elderly woman with myasthenia gravis who had pleural dissemination of thymoma reduced by treatments with a moderate dose of corticosteroids and a conventional dose of tacrolimus. A maintenance dose of prednisolone for myasthenia gravis could not shrink the size of the disseminated thymoma, but prednisolone (>30 mg daily) succeeded in reducing the size of the tumor. Moreover, a combination with tacrolimus enabled the daily dose of prednisolone to be tapered off without recurrence of myasthenia gravis, and the disseminated thymoma almost disappeared. A moderate or higher dosage of corticosteroids with tacrolimus may, in some cases, be an effective procedure for pleural dissemination of thymoma. Treatment should be undertaken on a trial basis for patients not indicated for surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Nephrology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Kohasu, Oko-cho, Nankoku 783-8505, Japan.
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Taguchi
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suehiro
authors.forename: Kagawa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toru
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ogami
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashimoto