INTRODUCTION: Thymic tumors including thymomas, thymic carcinomas, and thymic carcinoid tumors are rare tumors with an incidence of 0.13/100,000. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was performed to identify recent findings on epidemiology, classification, and various therapeutic approaches. RESULTS: These tumors with a wide spectrum of histologic and biologic features may be clinically unapparent for a long time or show a very aggressive behavior with local invasion and distant metastases. Surgical resection is the mainstay in stage I and II thymomas, whereas in stage III thymomas and in thymomas with pleural dissemination surgery in context of a multimodal treatment should be discussed. Thymic tumors are chemoreactive. Targeted therapies show poor results and should only be considered in the palliative situation after failure of chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: The new TNM (T: tumor, N: node, M: metastasis) classification of thymic tumors will help to identify the best treatment options.
INTRODUCTION:Thymic tumors including thymomas, thymic carcinomas, and thymic carcinoid tumors are rare tumors with an incidence of 0.13/100,000. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was performed to identify recent findings on epidemiology, classification, and various therapeutic approaches. RESULTS: These tumors with a wide spectrum of histologic and biologic features may be clinically unapparent for a long time or show a very aggressive behavior with local invasion and distant metastases. Surgical resection is the mainstay in stage I and II thymomas, whereas in stage III thymomas and in thymomas with pleural dissemination surgery in context of a multimodal treatment should be discussed. Thymic tumors are chemoreactive. Targeted therapies show poor results and should only be considered in the palliative situation after failure of chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: The new TNM (T: tumor, N: node, M: metastasis) classification of thymic tumors will help to identify the best treatment options.
Authors: Frank C Detterbeck; Kelly Stratton; Dorothy Giroux; Hisao Asamura; John Crowley; Conrad Falkson; Pier Luigi Filosso; Aletta A Frazier; Giuseppe Giaccone; James Huang; Jhingook Kim; Kazuya Kondo; Marco Lucchi; Mirella Marino; Edith M Marom; Andrew G Nicholson; Meinoshin Okumura; Enrico Ruffini; Paul Van Schil Journal: J Thorac Oncol Date: 2014-09 Impact factor: 15.609
Authors: A Fornasiero; O Daniele; C Ghiotto; M Piazza; L Fiore-Donati; F Calabró; F Rea; M V Fiorentino Journal: Cancer Date: 1991-07-01 Impact factor: 6.860
Authors: Edward S Kim; Joe B Putnam; Ritsuko Komaki; Garrett L Walsh; Jae Y Ro; Hyung Ju Shin; Mylene Truong; Hojin Moon; Steven G Swisher; Frank V Fossella; Fadlo R Khuri; Waun K Hong; Dong M Shin Journal: Lung Cancer Date: 2004-06 Impact factor: 5.705