[Radiodiagnosis of thymomas]

On the ground of the clinical experience gained on thymomas observed during the last decade and controlled by histopathology at the National Cancer Institute of Milan, the authors report and describe the typical morphology of the above neoplasms, which were studied with both the conventional and the most advanced imaging procedures. First of all, the authors point out the common problems of differential diagnosis with other lesions in the anterior mediastinum, with a special emphasis on lymphomas. Attention is also drawn to both the diagnostic and therapeutic value of conventional radiotomographic procedures combined with CT and MRI: in particular, the former can provide an extremely valuable diagnostic support to fine needle biopsy. In the authors' opinion, explorative surgery--e.g. mediastinal endoscopy-is immediately advisable when an unquestionable diagnosis is not reached even after a most rational combination of the different imaging procedures.