Distant recurrence from thymoma biopsy seeding: a case report

This case is a statement for the changes that have been made in diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of epithelial thymic tumors in the last years. Nowadays, the biopsy is not proposed when a resectable epithelial tumor of the mediastinum is the probable diagnosis, as the case presented. We believe that a longer follow-up for these patients is needed as they can recur later than the initially considered 5-year period, and the absence of surgical excision of the biopsy tract or in the presence of a complex biopsy (involving, for example, pleural puncture), should possibly be considered a pseudo-R0.