Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · World J Nucl Med
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1751055
Case Report

Submandibular Ectopic Thymic Mass in a 6-Month-Old Infant

Jordan Fenner
1   Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
,
Israel Saramago
1   Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
,
Jorge Oldan
2   Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
,
Mitchel Muhleman
2   Department of Molecular Imaging and Therapeutics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
› Further Information
Also available at
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Infant ectopic cervical thymus is a relatively uncommon diagnosis and, in many cases, subclinical. If not subclinical, it may present as a palpable swelling or with compressive symptoms (i.e., stridor or dysphagia). Standard radiologic workup includes an ultrasound followed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with tissue sampling if the ultrasound is indeterminate. In this case, an incidental submandibular mass was noted on a noncontrast MRI for seizures in a 6-month-old male infant. A radiologic and pathologic workup was performed for evaluation. However, this case is unique as fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography was also utilized to potentially aid in the establishment of a diagnosis.

Keywords

ectopic thymic tissue - submandibular mass - F-18 FDG PET/CT


Publication History

Article published online:
11 July 2024

© 2024. World Association of Radiopharmaceutical and Molecular Therapy (WARMTH). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India

 

  • References

  • 1 Song I, Yoo S-Y, Kim JH, Hong E, Yoon H-K. Aberrant cervical thymus: imaging and clinical findings in 13 children. Clin Radiol 2011; 66 (01) 38-42
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Siegel MJ, Glazer HS, Wiener JI, Molina PL. Normal and abnormal thymus in childhood: MR imaging. Radiology 1989; 172 (02) 367-371
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Escobar FA, Pantanowitz L, Picarsic JL. et al. Cytomorphology and sonographic features of ectopic thymic tissue diagnosed in paediatric FNA biopsies. Cytopathology 2018; 29 (03) 241-246
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Bale PM, Sotelo-Avila C. Maldescent of the thymus: 34 necropsy and 10 surgical cases, including 7 thymuses medial to the mandible. Pediatr Pathol 1993; 13 (02) 181-190
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Han BK, Yoon HK, Suh YL. Thymic ultrasound. II. Diagnosis of aberrant cervical thymus. Pediatr Radiol 2001; 31 (07) 480-487
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Liu Y. Characterization of thymic lesions with F-18 FDG PET-CT: an emphasis on epithelial tumors. Nucl Med Commun 2011; 32 (07) 554-562
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Zhao J, Wang H, Li Q. Value of 18F-FDG PET/computed tomography in predicting the simplified WHO grade of malignancy in thymic epithelial tumors. Nucl Med Commun 2020; 41 (04) 405-410
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Gawande RS, Khurana A, Messing S. et al. Differentiation of normal thymus from anterior mediastinal lymphoma and lymphoma recurrence at pediatric PET/CT. Radiology 2012; 262 (02) 613-622
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Purcell PL, Marquez Garcia J, Zawawi F. et al. Ectopic cervical thymus in children: clinical and radiographic features. Laryngoscope 2020; 130 (06) 1577-1582
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Liu D, Kitajima M, Awai K. et al. Ectopic cervical thymus in an infant. Radiat Med 2006; 24 (06) 452-455
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Appel T, Bergé S, Conrad R, Wernert N. Ectopic thymus presenting as a submandibular swelling. J Oral Maxillofac Surg 2001; 59 (08) 950-953
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar