Many thymomas do not cause symptoms and are found during testing for other conditions. When patients do have symptoms, these can include:
- a persistent cough
- muscle weakness
- chest pressure or chest pain
- trouble breathing
Diagnosis
If thymoma is suspected, your doctor will first perform a number of tests that together show the size, shape, and location of the tumor, and whether and where the disease has spread outside the thymus. These tests may include chest x-rays, CT scans, MRI, and PET scans.
Thymoma can only be diagnosed by examining a tissue sample (biopsy) taken from the thymoma. A tissue sample can be obtained by a needle biopsy or a surgical biopsy. In a needle biopsy, a small sample of cells is removed and examined under a microscope. In a surgical biopsy (sometimes referred to as a Chamberlain procedure or a mediastinotomy), the doctor makes a small incision and removes a sample of the tumors for analysis. Sometimes patients may have the tumor completely removed without a preceding biopsy.
