Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Thymoma vs lymphoma in pets - how to tell them apart
By Patterson, Morganne M E & Marolf, Angela J·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2014·Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Center, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Sonographic characteristics of thymoma compared with mediastinal lymphoma.
Plain-English summary
Thymomas are rare tumors that usually occur in the chest area of older pets. In a study of 50 animals, 35 had thymomas and 15 had lymphoma, another type of cancer. The researchers looked at ultrasound images and found that many thymomas appeared as cysts and had a mixed appearance on the ultrasound, while lymphomas were mostly solid and had a more uniform look. If your pet has a mass in the chest that looks cystic or has a varied appearance on an ultrasound, it might indicate a thymoma. The study suggests that these ultrasound features can help differentiate between thymomas and lymphomas.
Abstract
Thymomas are uncommon neoplasms that are typically located in the cranioventral mediastinum in domestic species, which generally affects older animals. Medical records and sonograms of 50 animals diagnosed with either mediastinal thymoma (n = 35) or lymphoma (n = 15) between January 2005 and February 2012 were reviewed. Cases with definitive cytological and/or histological diagnoses of either thymoma or lymphoma were included in this study. Masses were characterized by echogenicity, presence or absence of cysts, shape, margination, vascularity, and presence of effusion. Many thymomas (57.1%) were sonographically cystic in appearance and nearly all were heterogeneous (94%) in echogenicity compared with lymphoma (P = .0028). Lymphomatous lymph nodes were more likely to be solid (80%) and were equally divided between hypoechoic (47%) and heterogeneous (53%) echogenicities. Sonographic findings of either internal cysts or a heterogeneous echogenicity in mediastinal masses may be suggestive of a thymoma.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25251427/