Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus incidentally diagnosed following two-years of non-productive cough

Abstract

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus is a rare primary thymic carcinoma. Radiologic imaging of this malignancy is rarely reported in literature. We present a patient who complained of a chronic cough for two years who was later found to have mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus. Chest radiograph revealed a large anterior mediastinal mass. Follow-up computed tomography of the thorax demonstrated a large, heterogeneous anterior mediastinal mass with traversing vessels. F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography demonstrated high avidity in the lesion with areas of diminished activity thought to represent necrosis. Following surgical resection, pathology revealed high-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the thymus extending into the skeletal muscle and pericardium with evidence of lymphovascular invasion. The patient received external beam radiation therapy and has remained disease-free for three years.

Keywords

• Anterior mediastinal mass
• Mucoepidermoid carcinoma
• Computed tomography
• Positron emission tomography
• Radiologic-pathologic correlation
• Thymus