Chemotherapy for thymic tumors: induction, consolidation, palliation.

Although thymoma and thymic carcinoma are rare malignancies, they constitute a large proportion of tumors of the anterior mediastinum. Surgery forms the mainstay of therapy; however, thymic malignancies are sensitive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy also. Systemic chemotherapy is primarily used for treatment of metastatic or recurrent disease. Chemotherapy is also used as a component of multimodality treatment in the neoadjuvant setting with the aim of increasing the chances of achieving a complete surgical resection. In this article we outline various clinical trials that have been performed to evaluate the role of chemotherapy in the treatment of thymic malignancies. Published by Elsevier Inc.