Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Int J Surg Pathol. 2023 Sep;31(6):917-926. doi: 10.1177/10668969221118324. Epub 2022 Aug 28.
Thymic epithelial neoplasms are the most common tumors of thymic origin but are overall rare in the general population. Their morphologic diversity, ranging from low grade to overtly malignant lesions, along with various histologic growth patterns make them a diagnostically challenging group of tumors. Very occasionally, thymomas and thymic carcinomas may develop in combination with other benign or malignant lesions of thymic origin, further complicating the diagnostic process. The focus of this review lies on the spectrum of thymic epithelial tumors that present with other thymic lesions in the same tumor mass, such as multilocular thymic cysts, neuroendocrine neoplasms, lymphomas, and germ cell tumors among others. Awareness of the existence of such unusual tumors may not only aid in their diagnosis but may also have implications for prognostic and therapeutic purposes.
胸腺上皮肿瘤是最常见的胸腺起源肿瘤，但在一般人群中总体较为罕见。它们的形态多样性，从低级别到明显恶性病变，以及各种组织学生长模式，使它们成为一组具有诊断挑战性的肿瘤。非常罕见的情况下，胸腺瘤和胸腺癌可能与其他胸腺起源的良性或恶性病变同时发生，进一步使诊断过程复杂化。本综述的重点在于表现为同一肿瘤内其他胸腺病变的胸腺上皮肿瘤谱，如多房性胸腺囊肿、神经内分泌肿瘤、淋巴瘤和生殖细胞肿瘤等。了解这些不常见肿瘤的存在不仅有助于诊断，而且可能对预后和治疗目的具有重要意义。
