We encountered a 72-year-old woman with myasthenia gravis and thymoma who received glucocorticoid therapy for respiratory failure before undergoing thymectomy. After the antiacetylcholine receptor antibody titer was normalized, and the thymoma shrunk with prednisolone, the patient was free from symptoms. On pathological examination, the majority of the thymoma (type B2) had been hyalinized. Preoperative steroid therapy was effective in stabilizing myasthenia gravis and in inducing apoptosis of both epithelial and lymphocytic components of the thymoma.
EndoSYamaguchiTSaitoNOtaniSHasegawaTSatoY. Experience with programmed steroid treatment with thymectomy in nonthymomatous myasthenia gravis. Ann Thorac Surg2004; 77: 1745–1750.
2.
MasaokaAYamakawaYNiwaHFukaiIKondoSKobayashiM. Extended thymectomy for myasthenia gravis patients: a 20-year review. Ann Thorac Surg1996; 62: 853–859.
3.
DetterbeckFCParsonsAM. Thymic tumors [Review]. Ann Thorac Surg2004; 77: 1860–1869.
4.
TiseoMMonettiFFerrariniMSerranoJChiaramondiaMArdizzoniA. CASE 1. Complete remission to corticosteroids in an octreotide-refractory thymoma. J Clin Oncol2005; 23: 1578–1579.
5.
KobayashiYFujiiYYanoMSasakiHYukiueHHanedaH. Preoperative steroid pulse therapy for invasive thymoma: clinical experience and mechanism of action. Cancer2006; 106: 1901–1907.
6.
FunakoshiYShionoHInoueMKadotaYOhtaMMatsudaH. Glucocorticoids induce G1 cell cycle arrest in human neoplastic thymic epithelial cells. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol2005; 131: 314–322.
