       Document 0852
 DOCN  M9540852
 TI    Graft-versus-host-like colitis associated with malignant thymoma.
 DT    9504
 AU    Kornacki S; Hansen FC 3rd; Lazenby A; Department of Pathology, Johns
       Hopkins Medical Institutions,; Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
 SO    Am J Surg Pathol. 1995 Feb;19(2):224-8. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE
       MED/95133678
 AB    A case of a patient with a malignant thymoma who developed an unusual
       form of colitis is reported. The patient was a previously healthy
       20-year-old man who was referred to the Johns Hopkins Medical
       Institution for biopsy and resection of a mediastinal mass, which proved
       to be a malignant thymoma. During this hospitalization and subsequently,
       the patient developed severe chronic diarrhea, the etiology of which
       remained uncertain after routine work-up, including cultures.
       Colonoscopic biopsies revealed only minimal inflammation but numerous,
       prominent apoptotic lesions within crypt epithelium, suggestive of an
       autoimmune or graft-versus-host-like colitis. The patient, who was
       immunocompetent and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative, had no
       known risk factors for graft-versus-host-disease (e.g., no blood
       transfusions, no transplantation history before diarrheal episodes).
       Stool cultures for pathogenic bacteria and viruses were negative. The
       diarrhea and histologic findings eventually improved with steroid
       therapy yet returned on recurrence of the thymoma. This unusual form of
       colitis has not been previously reported to be associated with thymoma
       and is interesting in light of the role the thymus plays in immune
       regulation.
 DE    Adult  Case Report  Colitis/*ETIOLOGY/*PATHOLOGY  Graft vs Host
       Disease/*PATHOLOGY  Human  Male  Thymoma/*COMPLICATIONS/PATHOLOGY
       Thymus Neoplasms/*COMPLICATIONS/PATHOLOGY  JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

