Anterior mediastinal mass ( 5x3cm sized, tan-colored, hard, well-defined)

  Abutting the thymus, separated from pericardium and mediastinal pleura.

Pathologic Findings

Brief Discussion

Mesenchymal cell origin quasineoplastic lesion
 1) Heterogeneous chronic inflammatory cell   - plasma cell, lymphocyte, histiocyte.
  2) Spindle shaped cell - myofibroblast
 Immunostaining - vimentin, actin, desmin  
 Found nearly every site of the body  - Lung(m/c), orbit, heart, GI tract, CNS, etc.
 Calcification, cavitation(rare), Locally aggressive, multiple

Unknown etiology

- also associated with surgery, infection, malignancy, autoimmune disease, etc.
Wide age range of incidence - most common in children or young adults
No sex and racial predilection
Usually asymptomatic : detected incidentally

Chest Radiograph
   – peripheral located, sharply circumscribed mass

CT

   – well marginated solid mass, heterogeneous attenuation, variable pattern of enhancement.

MRI
   – intermediate SI on T1, increase SI on T2.

Treatment
 - conservative surgery
 - steroid
 - chemotherapy, RTx, antiinflammatory drugs

Can recur after complete resection

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