Membranous nephropathy, leiomyoma and autoimmune myasthenia: more than a coincidence?

Membranous nephropathy (MN) has been associated with several infectious, immunological and malignant conditions, but had only rarely been reported with malignant and other immune disorders in the same patient. We describe the case of a 56-year-old male with MN who was also diagnosed with a gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST), myasthenia gravis (MG) and thymic hyperplasia. Thus, we report here for the first time the coincidence of these conditions in the same patient. There was a recurrence of nephrotic syndrome without impairment of renal function 5 years after removal of the GIST (3 years after thymectomy). The possible basis for the relationship between these diseases is discussed, and some common genetic and immune physiopathological pathways are hypothesized.