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Pathology of the Pleura and Mediastinum pp 437–444Cite as

Thymic Carcinoma

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

Synonyms

Type C thymoma

Definition

Thymic carcinoma is defined as a poorly differentiated thymic epithelial neoplasm displaying overt cytological evidence of malignancy and complete loss of organotypical features of thymic differentiation. No reliable histopathologic features have yet been identified which distinguish these tumors from metastasis to the thymus, and histologically they are characterized by morphologic features which are identical to those of tumors from many other epithelial organs. In most cases thymic carcinoma remains a diagnosis of exclusion; the diagnosis made after thorough clinical and radiological correlation has ruled out the possibility of metastasis from a distant site (which is more common than primary thymic carcinoma). Thymic carcinomas are in general highly aggressive neoplasms and unlike thymoma tend not to be associated with paraneoplastic syndromes such as myasthenia gravis.

Thymic carcinomas are most often located in the anterior mediastinum. They can...

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References and Further Reading

  • Masaoka, A., Yasumasa, M., Kazuya, N., & Tsuneo, T. (1981). Follow-up study of thymomas with special reference to their clinical stages. Cancer, 48(11), 2485–2492. Print.

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  • Nishino, M., Ashiku, S. K., Kocher, O. N., et al. (2006). The thymus: A comprehensive review. Radiographics, 26(2), 335–348.

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  • Suster, S. (2005a). Thymic carcinoma: Update of current diagnostic criteria and histologic types. Seminars in Diagnostic Pathology, 22, 198–212.

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  • Suster, S. (2005b). Thymic carcinoma: Update of current diagnostic criteria and histologic types. Seminars in Diagnostic Pathology, 22(3), 198–212. Print.

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  • Suster, S., & Moran, C. A. (2009). The mediastinum. In N. Weidner, R. Cote, S. Suster, & L. Weiss (Eds.), Modern surgical pathology (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 454–516). Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.

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  • Suster, S., & Rosai, J. (1991). Thymic carcinoma. A clinicopathologic study of 60 cases. Cancer, 67, 1025–1032.

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  • Travis, W. D., Brambilla, E., Burke A. P., Marx A., Nicholson A. G. (Eds.). (2015). WHO classification of tumours; pathology and genetics of tumours of the lung, pleura, thymus and heart. Lyon: IARC Press. 4th ed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    David Suster & Paul VanderLaan

Authors
  1. David Suster
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  2. Paul VanderLaan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Suster .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The University of Mississippi Medical School, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA

    Timothy Craig Allen

  2. Department of Pathology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Saul Suster

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Suster, D., VanderLaan, P. (2018). Thymic Carcinoma. In: Allen, T.C., Suster, S. (eds) Pathology of the Pleura and Mediastinum. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66796-6_55

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66796-6_55

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-66795-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-66796-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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