{"title":"Thymic Lymphoepithelial Carcinoma in Children: Report of Four Cases and Review of Literature.","authors":"Lili He, Yaru Xu, Dantong Miao, Xiaoyi Zhang","doi":"10.1080/15513815.2025.2486838","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><b>Background:</b> Thymic lymphoepithelial carcinoma (TLEC) is a rare subtype of thymic carcinoma that primarily affects middle-aged and older adults and is extremely rare in children. We present four cases of TLEC in children and reviewed the pertinent literature to investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics. <b>Case Report:</b> All four patients are male, with an average age of 10 years (range: 9-13 years). Imaging studies consistently showed an anterior mediastinal mass with a diameter of 5-15 cm. Serum EB virus (EBV) antigen was positive in three patients. Three patients were at Masaoka stage IIb and all survived after surgery, while one patient at Masaoka stage IV died nine months after surgery. <b>Discussion:</b> Males are more likely than females to be affected by the TLEC, which mainly affects older kids. Immunohistochemistry and <i>in situ</i> hybridization tests are useful for diagnosis, and the tumor's occurrence is tightly linked to EBV infection.</p>","PeriodicalId":50452,"journal":{"name":"Fetal and Pediatric Pathology","volume":" ","pages":"196-205"},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Fetal and Pediatric Pathology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/15513815.2025.2486838","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/4/17 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"PATHOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Thymic lymphoepithelial carcinoma (TLEC) is a rare subtype of thymic carcinoma that primarily affects middle-aged and older adults and is extremely rare in children. We present four cases of TLEC in children and reviewed the pertinent literature to investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics. Case Report: All four patients are male, with an average age of 10 years (range: 9-13 years). Imaging studies consistently showed an anterior mediastinal mass with a diameter of 5-15 cm. Serum EB virus (EBV) antigen was positive in three patients. Three patients were at Masaoka stage IIb and all survived after surgery, while one patient at Masaoka stage IV died nine months after surgery. Discussion: Males are more likely than females to be affected by the TLEC, which mainly affects older kids. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization tests are useful for diagnosis, and the tumor's occurrence is tightly linked to EBV infection.
期刊介绍:
Fetal and Pediatric Pathology is an established bimonthly international journal that publishes data on diseases of the developing embryo, newborns, children, and adolescents. The journal publishes original and review articles and reportable case reports.
The expanded scope of the journal encompasses molecular basis of genetic disorders; molecular basis of diseases that lead to implantation failures; molecular basis of abnormal placentation; placentology and molecular basis of habitual abortion; intrauterine development and molecular basis of embryonic death; pathogenisis and etiologic factors involved in sudden infant death syndrome; the underlying molecular basis, and pathogenesis of diseases that lead to morbidity and mortality in newborns; prenatal, perinatal, and pediatric diseases and molecular basis of diseases of childhood including solid tumors and tumors of the hematopoietic system; and experimental and molecular pathology.