Lesions of the thymus. A study of 53 cases.

This is a retrospective study of 53 cases of thymic lesions diagnosed in a pathology department in Israel over the 18-year period 1960-78. The lesions encountered included 8 cysts, 28 thymomas, 4 thymic carcinomas, 10 lymphomas, 2 carcinoid tumors of the thymus, and one unclassifiable tumor. The range of histological appearances of thymomas is described and the possible association of the epithelial type (absent lymphocyte population) with aggressiveness is raised. Spinal metastases were present in two of the patients with thymic carcinoma.