Aplastic Anemia Proceeding to Thymoma: A Rare Co-Occurrence-A Case Report and Review Article.

BACKGROUND: Malignant thymoma is a rare tumor associated with various paraneoplastic syndromes, such as myasthenia gravis, pure red cell aplasia, and hypogammaglobulinemia. Aplastic anemia (AA) is an uncommon complication of thymoma that may occur during the disease or after thymoma resection. We report a case presented with AA before the thymoma.

CASE: We report the case of a 34-year-old man with thymoma who developed AA before the detection of the tumor. Although pancytopenia did not improve after thymectomy, prolonged immunosuppressive therapy led to complete resolution of AA. The patient has no recurrence during a 42-month follow-up period.

CONCLUSION: AA may precede the detection of thymoma and represent its initial clinical manifestation. So, thymoma should be considered a rare cause, along with other more common etiologies of AA. Patients with AA and thymoma require prolonged immunosuppressive therapy after surgery.