Diagnosing Thymoma and Thymic Cancer
Thymoma and thymic cancers are uncommon, and there are no widely recommended screening tests for them. About 4 out of 10 people with thymomas have no symptoms when their tumor is found. In most of these cases, the tumor is seen by chance on a test (like a chest x-ray or CT scan) that is done for some other reason.
Tests that may be performed include:
- Physical exam provides information about possible signs of thymic cancer and other health problems. Thymomas are often diagnosed by recognizing the signs and symptoms associated with myasthenia gravis, hypogammaglobulinemia or red cell aplasia.
- Chest x-ray - to look for any mass or spot in the chest/thymus area
- Computed tomography scan (Also called a CT or CAT scan) - a diagnostic imaging procedure that uses a combination of x-rays and computer technology to produce cross-sectional images (often called slices), both horizontally and vertically, of the body.
- Combined PET/CT scan - a type of nuclear scan that monitors the biochemical functioning of cells by detecting how they process certain compounds, such as glucose (sugar). Cancer cells metabolize glucose at a much higher level than normal tissues.
- Needle biopsy - a thin, hollow needle is guided into the mass while the lungs are being viewed on a flouroscopy or CT scan, and a sample of the mass is removed and evaluated in the pathology laboratory under a microscope.
- Surgical biopsy
In many cases, if your physician believes that you have thymoma (based on CT findings and lab tests, especially if you also have a paraneoplastic syndrome) and it can be removed with surgery, he or she may operate without any biopsy. This can both provide enough of a sample for a diagnosis and treat the tumor at the same time. The specimen is sent to the lab after surgery to confirm the diagnosis.
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