In a search for the determinants of autoimmune myasthenia, Catalan researchers have analysed the immunological signatures of several cases of thymoma:
- the study included 41 thymomas operated on between 2010 and 2020,
- 56% of the patients included had active autoimmune myasthenia,
- the number of CTLA4 positive thymic cells was significantly higher in the absence of myasthenia,
- this was not noted for other antibodies such as BCL6 and CD4-FOXP3.
The authors also report two CTLA4 polymorphisms that may help to refine the prediction of myasthenia in thymoma.