Bursting metastasis in thymic carcinoma.

Thymic carcinomas (primitive malignant epithelial neoplasms of the thymus) are rare tumors which generally remain silent for long periods and rarely metastatize outside the chest. The authors present a case of a 49 year-old patient, with mediastinal mass complicated by pericardial effusion and rapidly extensive liver metastasis. Data in the literature indicate that completeness of the excision at initial operation is the most important prognostic factor, but the presence of necrosis, high number of mitosis and endolymphatic emboli in the specimens could indicate a poor prognosis, suggesting a tempestive treatment and a close follow-up.