Huge extramedullary hematopoiesis mass in the posterior mediastinum: a case report

Front Oncol. 2024 Dec 13:14:1489785. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1489785. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Background: Extramedullary hemopoiesis (EMH) is a rare condition characterized by abnormal blood cell production outside the bone marrow, commonly occurring in the liver, spleen, lymph nodes, and less frequently in the mediastinum.

Case presentation: This case involves a 68-year-old male patient who was found to have a posterior mediastinal mass upon examination. A surgical biopsy was performed, and pathological examination confirmed it to be extramedullary hemopoiesis (EMH). Further investigation revealed that the patient also suffered from hemolytic anemia.

Conclusions: The report presents a case of a large posterior mediastinal mass, which was confirmed to be extramedullary hemopoiesis (EMH) upon surgical pathology. It is challenging to differentiate posterior mediastinal tumors from EMH, and the possibility of EMH should be considered in patients with posterior mediastinal masses that have similar CT findings and laboratory test results.

Keywords: case report; extramedullary hemopoiesis; hemolytic anemia; mediastinum; surgery.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.