DNA-Methylation Analysis as a Tool for Thymoma Classification

Thymomas are malignant thymic epithelial tumors that are difficult to diagnose due to their rarity and complex diagnostic criteria. They represent a morphologically heterogeneous class of tumors mainly defined by “organo-typical” architectural features and cellular composition. The diagnosis of thymoma is burdened with a high inter-observer variability and with the problem that some type-specific morphological alterations are rather a continuum than clear-cut. Methylation pattern-based classification may help to increase diagnostic precision, particularly in borderline cases. retrospective study of archival FFPE tissues