Total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma—report of two cases

Abstract Background Thymic carcinoma has been classified into 12 subtypes, thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is a type of them, and has a pathological organization similar to that of lymphoepithelioma, an undifferentiated type of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. According to a report from the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sachi Kawagishi, Naoko Ose, Masato Minami, Soichiro Funaki, Takashi Kanou, Kenji Kimura, Seiji Taniguchi, Eiichi Morii, Yasushi Shintani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Japan Surgical Society 2019-10-01
Series:Surgical Case Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40792-019-0706-6
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849250932549746688
author Sachi Kawagishi
Naoko Ose
Masato Minami
Soichiro Funaki
Takashi Kanou
Kenji Kimura
Seiji Taniguchi
Eiichi Morii
Yasushi Shintani
author_facet Sachi Kawagishi
Naoko Ose
Masato Minami
Soichiro Funaki
Takashi Kanou
Kenji Kimura
Seiji Taniguchi
Eiichi Morii
Yasushi Shintani
author_sort Sachi Kawagishi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Thymic carcinoma has been classified into 12 subtypes, thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is a type of them, and has a pathological organization similar to that of lymphoepithelioma, an undifferentiated type of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. According to a report from the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG), thymic LELC is a rare tumor and accounts for 6% of all thymic carcinoma cases. We report two cases of surgical resection for thymic LELC and perform a search of other reports of thymic LELC, and clinical manifestations and follow-up data thus obtained are summarized. Case presentation Two patients underwent surgical resection for thymic LELC. In both, tumors were detected in the anterior mediastinum and a total thymectomy was performed. Each was diagnosed with thymic LELC and classified in accordance with the Masaoka staging system as modified stage II. In recent examinations, one patient was doing well after undergoing total resection, whereas early recurrence of distant lymph node metastasis was noted in the other at 5 months after the total resection procedure and died thereafter from a different disease. Conclusion We report two cases of surgical resection for thymic LELC. A successful total resection may positively affect prognosis: thus, long-term follow-up examinations must be performed.
format Article
id doaj-art-8f4b4d47e6d342cb8b0ae12498179afd
institution Kabale University
issn 2198-7793
language English
publishDate 2019-10-01
publisher Japan Surgical Society
record_format Article
series Surgical Case Reports
spelling doaj-art-8f4b4d47e6d342cb8b0ae12498179afd2025-08-20T03:57:08ZengJapan Surgical SocietySurgical Case Reports2198-77932019-10-01511610.1186/s40792-019-0706-6Total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma—report of two casesSachi Kawagishi0Naoko Ose1Masato Minami2Soichiro Funaki3Takashi Kanou4Kenji Kimura5Seiji Taniguchi6Eiichi Morii7Yasushi Shintani8Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of General Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of General Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of General Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of General Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of Pathology, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of Pathology, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of Pathology, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineDepartment of General Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of MedicineAbstract Background Thymic carcinoma has been classified into 12 subtypes, thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma (LELC) is a type of them, and has a pathological organization similar to that of lymphoepithelioma, an undifferentiated type of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. According to a report from the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG), thymic LELC is a rare tumor and accounts for 6% of all thymic carcinoma cases. We report two cases of surgical resection for thymic LELC and perform a search of other reports of thymic LELC, and clinical manifestations and follow-up data thus obtained are summarized. Case presentation Two patients underwent surgical resection for thymic LELC. In both, tumors were detected in the anterior mediastinum and a total thymectomy was performed. Each was diagnosed with thymic LELC and classified in accordance with the Masaoka staging system as modified stage II. In recent examinations, one patient was doing well after undergoing total resection, whereas early recurrence of distant lymph node metastasis was noted in the other at 5 months after the total resection procedure and died thereafter from a different disease. Conclusion We report two cases of surgical resection for thymic LELC. A successful total resection may positively affect prognosis: thus, long-term follow-up examinations must be performed.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40792-019-0706-6Thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinomaThymusTotal thymectomyMasaoka staging system
spellingShingle Sachi Kawagishi
Naoko Ose
Masato Minami
Soichiro Funaki
Takashi Kanou
Kenji Kimura
Seiji Taniguchi
Eiichi Morii
Yasushi Shintani
Total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma—report of two cases
Surgical Case Reports
Thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma
Thymus
Total thymectomy
Masaoka staging system
title Total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma—report of two cases
title_full Total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma—report of two cases
title_fullStr Total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma—report of two cases
title_full_unstemmed Total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma—report of two cases
title_short Total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma—report of two cases
title_sort total thymectomy for thymic lymphoepithelioma like carcinoma report of two cases
topic Thymic lymphoepithelioma-like carcinoma
Thymus
Total thymectomy
Masaoka staging system
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40792-019-0706-6
work_keys_str_mv AT sachikawagishi totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases
AT naokoose totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases
AT masatominami totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases
AT soichirofunaki totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases
AT takashikanou totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases
AT kenjikimura totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases
AT seijitaniguchi totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases
AT eiichimorii totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases
AT yasushishintani totalthymectomyforthymiclymphoepitheliomalikecarcinomareportoftwocases