Thymoma and thymic carcinoma are diseases in which malignant (cancer) cells form on the outside surface of the thymus.
There are different types of tumors of the thymus. Thymomas and thymiccarcinomas are rare tumors of the cells that are on the outside surface of the thymus. The tumor cells in a thymoma look similar to the normal cells of the thymus, grow slowly, and rarely spread beyond the thymus. On the other hand, the tumor cells in a thymic carcinoma look very different from the normal cells of the thymus, grow more quickly, and have usually spread to other parts of the body when the cancer is found. Thymic carcinoma is more difficult to treat than thymoma.
Having a disease called myasthenia gravis can affect the risk of developing thymoma.
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