Histopathology of the thymus of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma in complete clinical remission.

The histologic features of thymuses from three patients who underwent thymectomy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in complete clinical remission are described. The thymuses from all three patients were fibrotic with a variability in the appearance of the lobules. Some of the lobules consisted predominantly of epithelial cells with small numbers of mature appearing lymphocytes, while other lobules were expanded and composed predominantly of cells having morphological features of immature lymphoid cells consistent with residual or recurrent disease.