Pathological Findings of Tumors at Thymus and Myasthenia Gravis

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 14(1); 1996 > Article

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 1996;14(1): 190-196.

흉선 종양의 조직병리학적 소견과 중증근무력증

조수진, 선우일남, 김기환, 신동환

연세대학교 의과대학 신경과학교실, 병리학교실

Pathological Findings of Tumors at Thymus and Myasthenia Gravis

Soo Jin Cho, M.D. Il Nam Sunwoo, M.D., Ki Whan Kim, M.D., Dong Whan Shin, M.D.

Department of Pathology and neurology, Yonsei university College of Medicine

Abstract

We retrospectively studied 53 cases of thymic tumors diagnosed after thymectomy to clearfied the pathologic difference of thymic tumor associated with myasthenia gravis and without myasthenia gravis. Among them, there are 23 cases with myasthenia gravis; 19 among 36 thymomas(52.8%), 3 of 4 thymolipoma (75%) and 1 squamous cell carcinoma. Lymphoma and teratoma are not associated with myasthenia gravis. There is no significant difference in the prevalence of myasthenia gravis between types of the old traditional classification of thymoma. But according to the new Muller-Hermelink classification, about two-thirds of myasthenia gravis have the thymoma with cortical cell origin. The prevalence of myasthenia gavis were relatively low in the patients with thymoma of medullary or mixed type. The frequent association of myasthenia gravis was suggesting that the thymolipoma might be a variant of thymoma, cortical type.