Pure red cell aplasia and associated thymoma.
Pure red cell aplasia is a rare cause of anemia, caused by an absence of red blood cell precursors in the bone marrow. It is usually a paraneoplastic syndrome, associated most commonly with large-cell granular lymphocyte leukemia but also thymoma. For patients who present both pure red cell aplasia and thymoma, thymectomy leads to an initial remission of the aplasia in 30% of cases. However, sustained remission may require the addition of medications such as corticosteroids, cyclosporine, or cyclophosphamide. We present a case of pure red cell aplasia associated with a thymoma in an otherwise healthy 80 year-old woman.
Division of Thoracic Surgery.
Cristian
C
Rosu
Division of Hematology.
Sandra
S
Cohen
Department of Pathology, Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
Caroline
C
Meunier
Division of Thoracic Surgery.
Denise
D
Ouellette
Division of Thoracic Surgery.
Gilles
G
Beauchamp
Division of Thoracic Surgery.
George
G
Rakovich
anemia; paraneoplastic syndrome.; pure red cell aplasia; thymoma