It is also said that the sign and symptoms link with myasthenia gravis,or red cell aplasia,hypogammaglobulinemia  are helpful for he diagnosis of Thymic Cancer. During physical examination the physician also gathered the information about the medical history, past illness and medication of patient

Once sign and symptoms shows the presence of Thymus tumor then the following imaging and other tests are performed to check the extent , prevalence and spread of cancerous cells in  the patient’s body. These tests also assist the doctor in differentiation of cancerous cells and non-cancerous cells.

Imaging tests

Chest x-ray :

It is the first imaging test that is perfomed when the doctor suspects the growth of tumor.  In this test the inside body images are present on a film.It is quite helpful in case of large thymomas but for small thymomas this test is not so effective therefore doctor go for some advanced imaging tests like CAT scan , PET scan and MRI.

Computed tomography (CT) scan

It is an advanced method in which the cross-sectional images of inside body are taken with the mean of an x-ray machine linked with the computer. The images are then studied by the doctors. In order to avoid any kind of mistake the doctor gives a liquid named as oral contrast to patient for drinking , this contrast material differentiate the tumor area from the normal ones and thereby the doctor get the idea about the area in which cancerous cells are growing. Other imaging tests are

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan

Blood tests

These tests are not helpful directly for the diagnosis of thymus cancer but somehow helpful in certain cases. Such as a blood test is performed to check that the chest’s mass is not affected by the germ cell tumor or some part of thyroid gland. After diagnosis of thymus cancer, blood cells counts and blood chemistry test are administered to get an idea about the overall health of patient.

Biopsy:

It is quite helpful in definitive diagnosis of thymus cancer , it involves removal of some cells as a sample that is examined under microscope by a pathologist. Two basis types of biopsies are

• Needle biopsy
• Surgical biopsy

You can get the complete detail of thymus cancer from this link ; what is Thymus Cancer?

It is evident in some researches that thymus cancer is developed just because of some changes in the humans DNA and these changes may become a cause of thymus cancerous cell growth.

DNA is a material in our cells that developed genes and then control the all functioning of our cell. So any change in it disturbs the proper functioning of cell thereby cause abnormal growth of cell. When DNA does not control the cell in a right manner then they start multiplying and diving in an uncontrollable manner and all this lead to development of cancerous cells in the body that accumulate and start invading normal cells; this process continues initiate thymus cancer

It is apparent in some studies that thymus cancer may be caused in a person if his close siblings had this cancer earlier.

Thymus cancer may spread from one generation to another just because of defects in genes.

In some researches, the excessive exposure to radiation to the upper chest area is regarded a risk factor and a probable cause of thymus cancer .Though in other studies it is not considered the cause of  Thymus cancer

Cancer of the Thymus is very rare and once again the causes are unknown. Typically they are benign and affect those between the ages of 40 and 60 years old, however there is one type that is extremely rare but can affect all ages and it is malignant, it is fast growing and can quickly spread to other parts of the body.

The typical symptoms are chest pains, coughing, shortness of breath and various other chest related symptoms. The cancer may even be found during a routine x-ray even if no symptoms were present.

The tests carried out to discover the extent of the cancer include an x-ray, a CT scan, an MRI scan and something known as a PET scan which uses a low-dose of a radioactive sugar being ingested into the body and a scan being performed to measure the amount of cellular activity present as cancerous cells are far more active. A needle biopsy of the affected region may also be performed to analyse the cells involved.

Surgery has to be done both to remove the affected area and to enable the doctor to see if the cancer has spread. If the cancer is contained within the gland then it can simply be removed, if it has spread radiation therapy is used to try to kill the remaining cells, chemotherapy drugs have also been found to be very effective against Thymus cancer and all three methods may be used to treat it.