Pure red cell aplasia and associated thymoma

Pure red cell aplasia is a rare cause of anemia, caused by an absence of red blood cell precursors in the bone marrow. It is usually a paraneoplastic syndrome, associated most commonly with large-cell granular lymphocyte leukemia but also thymoma. For patients who present both pure red cell aplasia and thymoma, thymectomy leads to an initial remission of the aplasia in 30% of cases. However, sustained remission may require the addition of medications such as corticosteroids, cyclosporine, or cyclophosphamide. We present a case of pure red cell aplasia associated with a thymoma in an otherwise healthy 80 year-old woman.