Generalized Cutaneous Candidiasis Associated With Diffuse Myopathy and Thymoma

Although the coexistence of thymus disease with candidiasis has been mentioned, the association of generalized cutaneous candidiasis with thymoma has apparently been documented only once before. This report describes such an association in a second patient in whom another thymus-related disease, diffuse myopathy, was also present. Surgical removal of the tumor, a thymoma of the spindle cell variety, did not result in improvement of the myopathy nor of the candidiasis. Cutaneous lesions of candidiasis responded to local anticandida agents, but they relapsed when the therapy was discontinued and showed a tendency to worsen when steroid therapy for the myositis was started. It would appear that thymoma should be added to the list of abnormal general states that may predispose to candidiasis.