Thymoma with chronic diarrhea: Report of two cases and review of the literature

Authors: Yildiz, Ozcan¹; Ozguroglu, Mustafa²; Turna, Hande¹; Yanmaz, Teoman¹; Kaynak, Kamil³; Akman, Canan⁴; Cetin, Sibel⁵; Oz, Buge⁵; Celik, Aykut⁶

Source: Medical Oncology, Volume 24, Number 1, January 2007 , pp. 119-123(5)

Publisher: Humana Press

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Abstract:

Thymoma associated with hypogammaglobulinemia and profound susceptibility to recurrent and serious infections was first reported by Good in 1954, after whom it was named as Good's syndrome. Chronic diarrhea associated with thymoma is almost always seen in patients with hypogammaglobulinemia. However, chronic diarrhea in a setting of normal gammaglobulins have been rarely reported. We hereby report two cases of thymoma with normal immune functions, presenting with chronic diarrhea as the only symptom of thymic malignancy. We discussed the etiopathogenic relation between thymic pathology and diarrhea and review the cases of thymoma associated with chronic diarrhea in the English literature.

Keywords: Thymoma; diarrhea

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12032-007-0017-9

Affiliations: 1: Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2: Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, Email: ozguroglu@superonline.com 3: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, 4: Department of Radiology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, 5: Department of Pathology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey, 6: Division of Gastroenterology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey,