Thymoma which is detected with a cough derived from pulmonary invasion; report of a case

A 83-year-old female was referred to our hospital for investigation of a persistent cough. A chest X-ray showed enlargement of the mediastinum. Computed tomography of the chest showed an anterior mediastinal mass with a maximal diameter of 6.5 cm, which had invasion to the lung. The patient underwent thymothymectomy combined resections of the lung, pericardium, and left innominate vein through a median sternotomy. Histological examination of the resected tumor revealed a World Health Organization (WHO) classification type B3 thymoma with infiltration into the lung. There were no infiltrations of the tumor into the pericardium and the innominate vein. A persistent cough disappeared after surgery. No adjuvant chemotherapy was performed. She is still free from disease with a follow-up period of 4 months. We report a rare case of thymoma detected with a persistent cough derived from pulmonary invasion.