Invasive thymoma metastases to the pancreas: A case report

Thymoma is the most common type of tumor that develops in the thymic epithelial cells. Although thymomas can invade surrounding organs in the chest cavity, extrathoracic metastasis is very rare, and little is known about the prognosis and effective treatments for such tumors. Herein, we report a case of an invasive thymoma metastasizing to the pancreas after incomplete resection.

A 47-year-old man presented to our hospital with an anterior mediastinal mass. Although a thymic tumor was suspected, complete resection was not achieved because the tumor had invaded the pulmonary artery trunk, superior pulmonary vein, and left brachiocephalic vein. The pathological diagnosis was a Type B3 thymoma. The patient underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy after surgery. Three years after surgery, computed tomography indicated a pancreatic mass suggestive of pancreatic cancer. Distal pancreatectomy was performed after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The pancreatic mass was diagnosed as Type B3 thymoma metastasis. Thirteen months after surgery for the pancreatic lesion, the patient underwent resection of the bilateral lung metastases.

To the best of our knowledge, only four cases of metastatic thymic tumors in the pancreas have been reported. All patients who underwent surgical resection for pancreatic metastasis survived for >6 months including our case.

In cases of thymic tumors with metastasis to extra-thoracic organs, complete resection of the metastatic lesions can contribute to prolonged survival.