Multilocular thymic cyst detected during COVID‑19 treatment in an HIV‑positive adult man: A case report and literature review

Hatano,Hiroto; Sumiya,Ryusuke; Misumi,Kento; Miyazaki,Hideki; Ikeda,Takeshi; Nagasaka,Satoshi

doi:10.3892/etm.2023.11984

Multilocular thymic cyst detected during COVID‑19 treatment in an HIV‑positive adult man: A case report and literature review

Authors:
- Hiroto Hatano
- Ryusuke Sumiya
- Kento Misumi
- Hideki Miyazaki
- Takeshi Ikeda
- Satoshi Nagasaka
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Affiliations: Department of General Thoracic Surgery, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo 162‑8655, Japan, Pathology Division of Clinical Laboratory, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo 162‑8655, Japan
Published online on: April 28, 2023 https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2023.11984
Article Number: 285
Copyright: © Hatano et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

A multilocular thymic cyst (MTC) is a rare mediastinal tumor with multiloculated cyst‑like structures in the anterior mediastinum. This tumfor is associated with inflammatory diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The present study reports a case of MTC detected during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) treatment in an adult who was tested HIV positive. An anterior mediastinal tumor was incidentally detected on computed tomography in a 52‑year‑old man with a 20‑year history of HIV infection on the 9th day of COVID‑19. The patient was asymptomatic with no notable physical findings. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 28‑mm bilocular cyst. Robot‑assisted thoracoscopic tumor resection was performed. Pathological examination showed that the cyst was lined with squamous or cuboidal epithelium, and the cystic lesion wall was mainly composed of thymic tissue with follicular hyperplasia. Based on these findings, the patient was diagnosed with MTC. To date, only 15 MTC cases have been reported in patients with HIV, and the majority of cases showed HIV infection‑related symptoms such as lymphoid interstitial pneumonia and parotid gland enlargement. The present case was atypical for an HIV‑related MTC because it did not involve HIV infection‑related symptoms, suggesting the possibility for an alternative etiology such as COVID‑19. Further reports on MTC development in patients with COVID‑19 are required to elucidate the relationship between MTC and COVID‑19.

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