Metaplastic thymoma: report of 4 cases

Metaplastic thymoma (MT), accepted in the World Health Organization 2004 scheme, is a circumscribed tumor of the thymus exhibiting biphasic morphology. We herein describe the clinicopathologic features of four MTs and the differential diagnoses of this unusual tumor. There were three women and one man with mean age of 49.5 years. The patients were found to have mediastinal masses, and underwent surgical excision. One exhibited symptoms of myasthenia gravis, and the serum titer for anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody was positive. Grossly, the tumors were encapsulated, and showed vaguely multinodular, solid, tan-white to yellow cut surfaces. Histologically, they comprised epithelial islands intertwining with bundles of delicate spindle cells. The patients remained well after surgical excision at 5-55 months. Because of the distinctive histological appearance and benign clinical course, MT should be distinguished from other more aggressive mediastinal neoplasms displaying biphasic feature.