Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 29, 2026
Role of Diffusion MRI Tractography in Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery
Published on: July 5, 2021
Thymic carcinoma presenting as cranial metastasis with intradural and extracranial extension: case report
Yoji Tamura1, Toshihiko Kuroiwa, Atsushi Doi
1Department of Neurosurgery, Osaka Medical College, Takatsuki City, Osaka, Japan. neu034@poh.osaka-med.ac.jp
Objective And Importance:
Thymic carcinoma is an uncommon malignant tumor that is different from thymoma. Cranial and brain metastases from this tumor are extremely rare. We report a thymic carcinoma with cranial metastasis and discuss the behavior of this tumor.
Clinical Presentation:
A 50-year-old man presented with headache and a palpable scalp tumor. Computed tomographic scans and magnetic resonance images revealed an osteolytic tumor with intradural and extracranial extension in the right occipital bone.
Intervention:
After gross total resection and histological diagnosis, further investigation revealed a primary thymic tumor in the anterior upper mediastinum and liver metastases. The patient received multiple-cycle chemotherapy (cisplatin and gemcitabine) for primary and metastatic lesions.
Conclusion:
Thymic carcinoma has a poor prognosis because of a high degree of malignancy, early metastasis, and delayed diagnosis. Thus, treatment of a patient with this tumor calls for prompt diagnosis, surgical treatment, and optimal adjuvant therapy.
