Thymus-related liposarcoma: report of a case and review of the literature.

We report herein the case of a 77-year-old woman who was admitted to our hospital for further evaluation of an abnormal shadow in the right upper mediastinum that had been revealed by a routine chest X-ray. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans confirmed the presence of a thymic tumor, but did not show any evidence of invasion into the central vessels or adjacent structures. Thus, an extended thymectomy with resection of the tumor was performed. Microscopically, normal thymic tissue was found among the tumor cells, and a pathological diagnosis of well-differentiated liposarcoma was established. From the operative and microscopic findings, it is apparent that the tumor was related to the thymus. Postoperative irradiation of 60 Gy was delivered to the operative site and the patient has remained free of disease for 29 months since the operation.