Successful treatment of thymoma-associated pure red cell aplasia with intravenous immunoglobulins

Repeated cycles of intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) have been reported to be successful in a few patients with idiopathic pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) or associated with another pathology. The efficacy of this treatment for PRCA with thymoma has not been reported previously. We describe here the case of a 75-yr-old man who presented with PRCA associated with a benign thymoma. After failure of thymectomy, corticosteroids and octreotide, a complete durable remission was obtained after a single 5-d cycle of IVIG.