Atypical Carcinoid Tumor of the Thymus : a case report

Carcinoid tumor of the thymus is a rare neoplasm. It comprises a wide spectrum of lesions ranging from well-differentiated to poorly-differentiated neoplasms. We report a case of anterior mediastinal mass, which is proven to be an atypical thymic carcinoid tumor with a histopathological nature of intermediate-grade moderately-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma. We also present the patient’s clinical manifestations, imaging findings and pathological diagnosis. This tumor reveals large area of necrosis in imaging finding, which corresponds with its histopathological differentiation and classification. Since the thymic carcinoid had a tendency of local invasion and distant metastasis, it should be included in the differential diagnosis of anterior mediastinal tumor identified on chest X-ray or CT films. The imaging finding of large necrotic area can be predictable in its histopathological grading.