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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Ibnosina Journal of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences 2024; 16(03): 126-130
DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1785529
Case Report

The Cystic Appearance of a Mediastinal Mass Does Not Exclude Lymphoma: A Case Example of Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma in a Thymic Cyst and a Brief Literature Review

Samir Kahwash 
1   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, United States
,
Sheridan Chaves
1   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, United States
,
Ashlie Patton
1   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, United States
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Abstract

Herein, we report a case of a 16-year-old girl who presented with an episode of shortness of breath while playing sports. Upon radiologic workup, she was found to have a large multicystic anterior mediastinal mass. The cystic appearance of mass and lack of constitutional symptoms contributed to favoring a benign cystic process and deferring surgical resection until the end of sport season. When surgery was performed 3 months later, microscopic examination showed findings diagnostic of classic Hodgkin lymphoma arising in a thymic cyst. Despite the rarity of such cases, it is important to remember that the cystic nature of an anterior mediastinal mass does not exclude lymphoma. Definitive diagnosis is not possible without examination of representative tissue.

Keywords

anterior mediastinal - cystic thymic masses - Hodgkin lymphoma - mediastinal mass - Reed–Sternberg cells

Authors' contributions

All authors contributed to the conception of the case report, its drafting and finalizations. They all reviewed and approved the final version.


Compliance with Ethical Principles

None.




Publication History

Article published online:
04 June 2024

© 2024. The Libyan Biotechnology Research Center. 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/)

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