Paolo Cornaglia-Ferraris

Thymoma in children: Clinical and immunological features in three cases

Three cases of thymoma (two girls aged 8 and 12 years and one boy aged 4 years) are reported. The anterior mediastinal tumor was responsible in all three cases for a progressive compression of the surrounding tissues causing cough and dyspnea and, in the boy, for superior vena caval compression. A clinically silent immune imbalance was present in all three cases: although the frequency of infections was not increased, low mitogen responsiveness and/or dysgamma-globulinemia were observed on several occasions during follow-up in two of the three children, while in the third abnormally high percentages of T6+ and T9+ circulating lymphocytes were detected. Moreover, in all three, impairment of skin reactivity to common T-dependent antigens was demonstrated.