Representing a mere 2-5% of the total thymic malignancies and 0.4% of total carcinoid tumors, primary thymic neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are the zebras of the thymic neoplasms. They were initially characterized as 'epithelial thymomas'; later, the term carcinoid tumors was coined by Rosai and Higa. These tumors are highly unpredictable in their presentation and prognosis. Coupled with variable...

A carcinoid tumor of the thymus combined with thymoma in a 62-year-old man is described. The mediastinal tumor had been present for 13 years and was associated with pure red cell aplasia. Carcinoid tumor occupied the central two-thirds of the tumor, consisting of nests and trabeculae of monotonous round cells, which ultrastructurally showed many intracytoplasmic dense-core granules. Typical spi...

Cushings’s syndrome due to ectopic adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) secretion was first described nearly a century ago by Hurst Brown. Bronchial carcinomas, usually bronchial carcinoids, were the first to be described and continue to be the leading cause of the ectopic ACTH syndrome; however, thymic carcinoids account for approximately 10% of cases. The Zollinger Ellison syndrome, excessive gastrin ...

Thymic carcinoids are rare mediastinal tumours. These are aggressive tumours that often present late and have poor prognosis. Primary surgical treatment is recommended even in metastatic tumours since the role of adjuvant therapy is not well established. We present a case of metastatic thymic carcinoid managed with surgical excision.

The latest World Health Organization (WHO) classification from 2015 has grouped lung and thymic neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) (named neoplasm in the digestive WHO classification) within one unique group but confirmed their subdivision into four main categories: typical carcinoid (TC), atypical (AC), small cell cancer (SCLC) large carcinoma (LCNEC).1 These guidelines are restricted to (LC) (ThC)...

BACKGROUND Surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for thymic epithelial tumors, and radiation and chemotherapy also have been applied widely as adjuvant and palliative procedures. METHODS We compiled records of 1,320 patients with thymic epithelial tumors who were treated from 1990 to 1994 in 115 institutes certified as special institutes for general thoracic surgery by The Japanese Associ...

Surgical resection is the first choice for treatment of a thymic carcinoid tumor and radiotherapy is often performed as adjuvant therapy. Here, we report a case of an unresectable and chemoresistant thymic carcinoid tumor that was treated successfully using standalone proton beam therapy (PBT). The patient was a 66-year-old woman in whom surgical resection of the tumor was impossible because of...

Lowenthal, R. M., Gumpel, J. M., Kreel, L., McLaughlin, J. E., and Skeggs. D. B. L. (1974). Thorax, 29, 553-558. Carcinoid tumour of the thymus with systemic manifestations: a radiological and pathological study. Following recent reports of an unusual mediastinal tumour described as 'mediastinal endocrine neoplasm of probable thymic origin, related to carcinoid tumour' (Rosai and Higa, 1972), a...