Thymoma history and symptoms

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Amr Marawan, M.D. [2] Ahmad Al Maradni, M.D. [3]

Symptoms of thymoma include muscle weakness, cough, wheezing, and difficulty swallowing in addition to the symptoms of associated immune syndromes such as anemia, arthralgia, and skin rash.

Approximately 30% of the patients with thymoma have symptoms caused by compression of the surrounding organs, these may include:^[1]

• Facial swelling (due to compression of the superior vena cava)
• Difficulty swallowing (due to compression of the esophagus)
• Cough and wheezing (due to compression of the trachea)
• Chest pain (due to local compression)

Approximately 30% of the patients have symptoms of associated autoimmune disorders, these may include:

• Muscle weakness (associated with myasthenia gravis and polymyositis)
• Anemia (associated with pure red cell aplasia)
• Fever, chest pain, cough, and malaise (associated with Good’s syndrome, agranulocytosis, combined immunodeficiency, hypogammaglobulinemia, and acute pericarditis)
• Arthralgia and skin rash (associated with polymyositis, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus)
• Anxiety, diarrhea and palpitation (associated with thyroiditis and ulcerative colitis)

Approximately 33% to 50% of the patients with thymoma have no symptoms at all, and the mass is identified incidentally.^[1]

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