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Calabrese F, Fortarezza F, Pezzuto F, Lunardi F, Comacchio G, Sbaraglia M, Pasello G, Marulli G, Dei Tos AP, Rea F. The Rarest of Rare Thymic Lesions: A 10-Year Surgical Pathology Experience. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:4056. [PMID: 34439210 PMCID: PMC8392427 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13164056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ located in the midline pre-vascular mediastinum. The organ is the site of various pathological processes, neoplastic and not, whose rarity has not allowed in-depth studies on clinical or histological features of rarest and unusual variants. Herein, we report a 10-year Padova experience in the surgical pathology of the thymus, focusing on the pathological description of nonneoplastic lesions and rare epithelial and mesenchymal tumors recorded in our database, which comprises over 600 thymectomies. The extrapolated rare cases have been categorized into four groups that included 15 cysts, 18 carcinomas, 5 neuroendocrine tumors, and 2 soft tissue tumors. The cases are described from a clinical and pathological point of view and discussed in dedicated sections with a review of the most important literature. In this case, review series, we aim to update the epidemiology of these rare entities, improve diagnostic awareness, and finally, promote a collaborative network between referral centers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiorella Calabrese
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; (F.F.); (F.P.); (F.L.); (G.C.); (F.R.)
| | - Francesco Fortarezza
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; (F.F.); (F.P.); (F.L.); (G.C.); (F.R.)
| | - Federica Pezzuto
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; (F.F.); (F.P.); (F.L.); (G.C.); (F.R.)
| | - Francesca Lunardi
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; (F.F.); (F.P.); (F.L.); (G.C.); (F.R.)
| | - Giovanni Comacchio
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; (F.F.); (F.P.); (F.L.); (G.C.); (F.R.)
| | - Marta Sbaraglia
- Department of Medicine, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; (M.S.); (A.P.D.T.)
| | - Giulia Pasello
- Department of Surgery, Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy;
| | - Giuseppe Marulli
- Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70124 Bari, Italy;
| | - Angelo Paolo Dei Tos
- Department of Medicine, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; (M.S.); (A.P.D.T.)
| | - Federico Rea
- Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, 35121 Padova, Italy; (F.F.); (F.P.); (F.L.); (G.C.); (F.R.)
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