Thymoma and hypogammaglobulinemia (Good's syndrome): a case report

Yi-Giien Tsai¹, Jenn-Haung Lai², San-Yuan Kuo², Hsiang-Cheng Chen², Deh-Ming Chang^2
1Department of Pediatrics, Christian Hospital, Institute of Medical Research, Chang Jung Christian University, Changhua; and ²Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.

Received: November 7, 2003 Revised: November 30, 2003 Accepted: August 9, 2004

Corresponding author: Dr. Deh-Ming Chang, Division of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, Department of Internal Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, No.325, Section 2, Cheng-Kung Road, Neihu 114, , Taiwan. E-mail:

Good's syndrome is extremely rare and refers to an acquired B and T cell immunodeficiency in thymoma patients. We report a 51-year-old female thymoma patient who presented with recurrent herpes zoster, pneumonia, diarrhea and opportunistic infections. She was found to have acquired hypogammaglobulinemia with absent B cells. Despite repeat intravenous immunoglobulin replacement and antibiotic therapy, she died of bacterial pneumonia-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome. Clinicians should look for evidence of immunologic dysfunction in thymoma patients presenting with recurrent infections.

Key words: Thymoma, hypogammaglobulinemia

J Microbiol Immunol Infect 2005;38:218-220.