thymic precursor T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma

Precursor T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-cell ALL/LBL) also is a tumor frequently occurring in the anterior mediastinum.

When a large biopsy or resection specimen is available for review, the morphologic differentiation between thymoma and T-cell ALL/LBL, in general, is straightforward.

Owing to its anatomic location, however, the initial study of a mediastinal mass often commences with fine-needle aspiration (FNA) or mediastinoscopic biopsy, severely limiting the quantity of material available for histologic diagnosis.

Differentiation of thymoma from T-cell ALL/LBL based on histologic examination can be confounded further by a thymoma that has a predominance of lymphocytes.

Open References

 Flow cytometry in the differential diagnosis of lymphocyte-rich thymoma from precursor T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma. Li S, Juco J, Mann KP, Holden JT. Am J Clin Pathol. 2004 Feb;121(2):268-74. PMID: 14983942