Jn. Fink et al., Myasthenia gravis with thymoma is more common in the Maori and Pacific Island populations in New Zealand, INTERN M J, 31(4), 2001, pp. 206-210
Citations number
32
Categorie Soggetti
General & Internal Medicine","Medical Research General Topics
Background: The association of myasthenia gravis (MG) with thymoma is well
recognized. Our clinical impression has been that MG associated with thymom
a may be more common in patients of Polynesian descent than in other races.
Aim: To determine the influence of ethnicity on the association of MG with
thymoma in our population.
Method: Review of all cases of thymectomy performed at Greenlane Hospital i
n Auckland for the 20-year period from June 1978 to June 1998.
Results: There were 103 thymectomies performed in the study period. Fifty-f
ive thymomas were identified, 15 in subjects of Maori or Pacific Island eth
nicity and 40 in subjects of other races, predominantly Caucasian. Ten of 1
5 Maori or Pacific Island subjects with thymoma had MG (67%), compared with
15 of 40 subjects of other races (37.5%, P = 0.05). The mean age of Maori
or Pacific Island subjects with thymoma and MG was 42.5 years, compared wit
h 56.3 years in subjects from other races (P = 0.06). All five Maori and Pa
cific Island subjects with invasive thymoma had MG, whereas only four of 15
subjects (27%) from other races with invasive rumours had MG (P < 0.01). T
he overall incidence of thymoma and the proportion of thymomas that were in
vasive did not differ between the ethnic groups.
Conclusions: Myasthenia gravis with thymoma occurs more frequently among Ma
ori or Pacific Island people than in other racial groups in our population.
This is due to an increase in the proportion of cases with thymoma who hav
e MG in this group, while the overall frequency of cases of thymoma is simi
lar between groups. MG with thymoma in the Maori or Pacific Island populati
ons also presents at a younger age and is more often associated with tumour
invasion.