abstract
Four months after termination of successful chemotherapy for epipharyngeal B-non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an enlarging anterior mediastinal mass was discovered in a 15-year-old boy. There was no other suspicion of tumour recurrence. A simple thymic rebound was likely and a conservative management was chosen. Follow up for more than 12 months was uneventful. The frequency of thymic hyperplasia after termination of chemotherapy is discussed. It is a benign immunological rebound phenomenon and does not require operative intervention.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- CT:
-
computerized tomography
- EBV:
-
Epstein-Barr virus
References
Caffey J, Silbey R (1960) Regrowth and overgrowth of the thymus after atrophy induced by the oral administration of adrenocorticosteroids to human infants. Pediatrics 26:762–770
Carmosino L, Dibenedetto A, Feffer S (1985) Thymic hyperplasia following successful chemotherapy. Cancer 56:1526–1528
Choyke PL, Zeman RK, Gootenberg JE, Greenberg JN, Hoffer F, Frank JA (1987) Thymic atrophy and regrowth in response to chemotherapy: CT evaluation. AJR 149:269–272
Cohen M, Hill CA, Cangir A, Sullivan MP (1980) Thymic rebound after treatment of childhood tumors. AJR 135:151–156
Dieckmann K-P, Düe W, Bauknecht K-J, Hamm B (1988) Reaktive benigne Thymushyperplasie nach zytostatischer Chemotherapie. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 113:598–601
Düe W, Dieckmann K-P, Stein H (1989) Thymic hyperplasia following chemotherapy of a testicular germ cell tumor. Cancer 63:446–449
Gelfand DW, Goldman AS, Law EJ, MacMillan BG, Larson D, Abston J, Schreiber JT (1972) Thymic hyperplasia in children recovering from thermal burns. J Trauma 12:813–817
Kissin CM, Husband JE, Nicholas D, Eversman W (1987) Benign thymic enlargement in adults after chemotherapy: CT demonstration. Radiology 163:67–70
Miller G (1990) Epstein-Barr virus: biology, pathogenesis, and medical aspects. In: Fields BN, Knipe DM (eds) Fields virology, 2nd ed, vol 2. Raven Press, New York, pp 1921–1958
Risk G, Cueto L, Amplatz K (1972) Rebound enlargement of the thymus after successful corrective surgery for transposition of great vessels. AJR 116:528–530
Shin MS, Ho K-J (1983) Diffuse thymic hyperplasia following chemotherapy for nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease. Cancer 51:30–33
Tait DM, Goldstraw P, Husband JE (1986) Thymic rebound in an adult following chemotherapy for testicular cancer. Eur J Surg Oncol 12:385–387
Tobisu K, Kakizoe T, Takai K, Matsumoto K, Tsuchiya R (1987) Thymic enlargement following treatment for a metastatic germ cell tumor: a case report. J Urol 137:520–521
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Leibundgut, K., Willi, U. & Plüss, H.J. Thymic rebound following successful chemotherapy of B-lymphoma in an adolescent boy. Eur J Pediatr 151, 95–97 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01958950
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01958950