Type 1 cryoglobulinaemia associated with a thymic tumour: successful treatment with plasma exchange

Thymic tumours are associated with a wide range of autoimmune and haematological disorders, notably myasthenia gravis, red cell aplasia, and systemic lupus erythematosus. An association with cryoglobulinaemia has only once been reported previously. In this report we describe a 60-yr-old male patient with a spindle cell thymoma, treated surgically, who also had type 1 cryoglobulinaemia, with severe peripheral circulatory impairment with digital ulceration and a mononeutitis multiplex. The patient has been successfully treated with prednisolone, immunosuppression and plasma exchange.