Table 3. Biopsy diagnostic failure of anterior mediastinal masses (AMMs) (11 cases).
| Diagnostic failure classification | Age/sex | Lesion size (cm) | Biopsy diagnosis | Final diagnosis (method) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insufficiency for subclassification | 29/female | 6 | Low malignance | Thymoma (surgery) |
| 47/male | 14.8 | Carcinoma | Thymic carcinoma (clinical comprehensive diagnosis) | |
| 29/male | 14.8 | Suspected lymphoma | Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (surgery) | |
| 38/female1 | 10.7 | Suspected lymphohematopoietic tumor | T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (bone marrow biopsy + flow cytometry) | |
| Tumor necrosis | 44/female | 10 | Necrotic tissue | Neuroendocrine carcinoma** (FNAC+ clinical comprehensive diagnosis) |
| Misdiagnosis | 38/female2 | 10.7 | Granulocytic sarcoma | T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (bone marrow biopsy + flow cytometry) |
| Non-diagnosis | 58/female | 5.9 | Pulmonary tissue with fibrous tissue proliferation and lymphocyte infiltration | Lung squamous cell carcinoma (bronchoscopy) |
| 18/male | 7 | Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium | Mixed germ cell tumor (surgery) | |
| 48/male | 10 | Little skin, striated muscle and lymphoid tissue | Thymoma (FNAC) | |
| 25/female | 11 | Atypical lymphocyte | PMLBCL (secondary CEUS-guided biopsy) | |
| 45/male* | 8.8 | Inflammatory cell infiltration and foam cell reaction in pulmonary tissue | Hodgkin lymphoma (bronchoscopy) |
1,2, the same patient underwent two ultrasound-guided biopsies in one month; *, core needle biopsy guided by contrast enhanced ultrasound; **, re-biopsy after chemoradiotherapy of neuroendocrine carcinoma. PMLBCL, primary mediastinal large B cell lymphoma; FNAC, fine needle aspiration biopsy.