Thymic basaloid carcinoma with aggressive invasion of the lung and pericardium: Report of a case

Abstract

We report a case of basaloid carcinoma of the thymus, invading the lung and pericardium. The patient was a 72-year-old man who suffered thoracic trauma in a fall and was taken to his family physician. Computed tomography revealed a huge mediastinal tumor with cystic components, pressing into the lung. He was referred to our hospital, where magnetic resonance imaging showed suspicious invasion of the pericardium and mediastinum. We made an assumed diagnosis of a mediastinal malignancy and performed mediastinal tumor resection. The tumor was adherent to the lung, pericardium, and left innominate vein. The final pathological diagnosis was a basaloid carcinoma of the thymus. Basaloid carcinoma is often a component of a multiloculated thymic cyst (MTC) and should be considered when MTC is identified within an anterior mediastinal tumor.

A basaloid carcinoma with multilocular thymic cyst mimicking a mediastinal teratoma

“…To our knowledge, no more than 30 cases of TBC were reported in the English literature [ 4 , 5 ]. A case series published in 2009 reported the clinical pathology and immunohistochemical characteristics of 12 cases of TBC [ 5 ].…”

Basaloid Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Thymus With Prominent B-Cell Lymphoid Hyperplasia

“…Several authors have documented unresectable basaloid carcinomas, others invasion into adjacent structures, such as pleura, pericardium, and lung, and some have reported metastatic disease to the liver. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] It is important to note, that due to the unusual occurrence of basaloid carcinomas, most of the reported cases have been individual case reports. Although it has been recognized that some basaloid carcinomas were associated with a multilocular thymic cyst, 5 so far, the presence of B-cell lymphoid hyperplasia has not been reported as a feature of thymic carcinomas in general and more specifically in basaloid carcinomas.…”

“…Even though in the past, basaloid carcinoma has been grouped among the low-grade thymic carcinomas, there are reports of these tumors displaying more aggressive behavior. Several authors have documented unresectable basaloid carcinomas, others invasion into adjacent structures, such as pleura, pericardium, and lung, and some have reported metastatic disease to the liver 13–19 . It is important to note, that due to the unusual occurrence of basaloid carcinomas, most of the reported cases have been individual case reports.…”

Thymic basaloid carcinoma: a rare clinical entity

“…Primary thymic carcinoma is a rare malignancy and particularly basaloid type is an even rare subtype, with less than 20 cases published as individual case reports in the English literature. [1][2][3][4][5] A 61-year-old female patient presented after falling, with concern for rib fracture. CT of abdomen/pelvis with contrast to evaluate for splenic injury revealed two left hepatic lobe masses with the largest measuring 5.1 cm concerning for metastatic disease.…”