EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF THYMIC CARCINOMA WITH OPERATION AND COMBINATION CHEMOTHERAPY AGAINST ACUTE MONOCYTE LEUKEMIA - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Thymic carcinoma associated with acute monocyte leukemia (AMoL) and a history of choriocarcinoma was diagnosed in a 58-year-old female. We f ound no other such case in a literature search. She was first treated with DCMP therapy: daunorubicin, cytosine arabinoside, GMP-riboside, a nd prednisolone against AMoL. After induction chemotherapy, complete A MoL remission was attained. Chest CT scan after chemotherapy revealed regression of the mediastinal tumor. Resection of the tumor included t he left upper lobe of the lung, phrenic nerve and pericardium. Patholo gical diagnosis showed poorly or moderately differentiated squamous ce ll carcinoma. Although the patient died of pneumonia during chemothera py for relapsed AMoL, chest X-ray and CT revealed no recurrence of the mediastinal tumor after the original operation. Judging from this cas e and other successful cases of chemotherapy, we feel that intensive c hemotherapy may be a beneficial strategy against thymic carcinoma.