Thymic atypical carcinoid with Cushing's syndrome manifesting in the terminal stage.

A 56-year-old man with recurrent thymic atypical carcinoid presented with Cushing's syndrome only in the terminal stage. Eighteen months after the resection of an anterior mediastinal mass, he presented with hypernatremia and hypokalemia with high serum levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol, and died two months later. An autopsy demonstrated multiple metastases of the tumor to the mediastinum, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, bone, pituitary gland, and ocular muscles. The adrenocorticotropic hormone level of the tumor tissue was 26,000 pg/g.