Cancer-aociated retinopathy aociated with invaive thymoma

PURPOE: To report a cae of cancer-aociated retinopathy aociated with invaive thymoma. DEIGN: Interventional cae report METHOD: A 41-year-old Japanee woman wa oberved between February 1998 and May 2001. Ophthalmologic examination and ytemic examination were performed. The patient received treatment including corticoteroid pule therapy, plamapherei, and thymectomy. REULT: The patient developed progreive viual dyfunction including bilateral viual acuity lo, concentric contraction of viual field, and color viion lo. In both eye, retinal veel attenuation and retinal pigment epithelium degeneration were oberved with fundu ophthalmocopy and fluorecein angiography. Repone in electroretinogram wa reduced, uggeting both rod and cone dyfunction. Autoantibody againt 23-kD cancer-aociated retinopathy (CAR) antigen (antirecoverin antibody) wa detected in the patient’ erum. A mediatinal tumor that wa hitopathologically diagnoed a invaive thymoma wa detected and wa urgically reected. During more than 3 year of follow-up, no other malignancy wa detected depite extenive ytemic evaluation. The patient alo uffered from ubclinical myathenia gravi. Although temporary improvement of viual function wa oberved after treatment with teroid pule therapy and plamapherei’ light perception of each eye wa lot in the end. CONCLUION: The patient wa diagnoed a having CAR. Invaive thymoma wa conidered to be the cauative tumor becaue there had been no evidence that uggeted other ytemic malignancy during more than 3 year of follow-up.