Mediastinal tumours and cysts. A review of 91 cases.

The experience with 91 primary tumours of the mediastinum during a period of 20 years is presented. A total of 24 separate cell types were identified. The most frequent lesions were thyroid tumours, neurogenic tumours, cysts and tumours of lymphatic origin. About 50% of the tumours were discovered by chance in asymptomatic patients undergoing routine chest examination. Twenty per cent of the patients with malignant lesions were free of symptoms. The pre-operative diagnosis was uncertain in most instances, and early surgical exploration is therefore recommended. Seventy-four patients underwent surgery and the operative mortality rate was 2.7%. The long-term survival was closely related to the histological nature of the neoplasm.