THYMIC BASALOID CARCINOMA - A CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

We report a case of thymic basaloid carcinoma in a 65-yr-old man who p resented with symptoms referable to the mass effect of the tumor. The tumor arose in association with a multilocular thymic cyst and microsc opically was characterized by islands, nests, and cords of basaloid ce lls. The tumor cells demonstrated prominent palisading around most of the neoplastic islands and nests. The tumor was excised, and there was no evidence of recurrent or metastatic disease in the 6-mo follow-up period, Including the current case, seven cases of basaloid thymic car cinoma have been reported in the English literature, four of which (57 %) were associated with a multiloculated thymic cyst. Follow-up was av ailable on three patients, Although no patient has died of tumor, pulm onary metastases developed in two patients, Although basaloid thymic c arcinoma is currently considered a tumor of low-grade histology, more cases need to be studied to determine the longterm prognosis of these tumors.