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Seminars in Thoracic and Cardiovascular... Oct 2000Although thymomas are rare neoplasms, they are the most common tumor of the anterior mediastinum in adults. Preferred therapy for these neoplasms is complete surgical... (Review)
Review
Although thymomas are rare neoplasms, they are the most common tumor of the anterior mediastinum in adults. Preferred therapy for these neoplasms is complete surgical resection. If a thymoma cannot be completely resected, postoperative radiotherapy may produce satisfactory results in controlling the tumor. Significant 5- and 10-year survival rates have been recorded for patients with advanced thymomas who have been treated by radiation therapy alone. Chemotherapy may be used in patients with unresectable thymomas as well, but the results are less promising than with radiotherapy. Combinations of radiotherapy and chemotherapy used on patients with unresectable thymomas have produced encouraging results. Surveillance of patients with thymoma should be prolonged because late recurrence (more than 5 years after initial therapy) can be expected in a significant minority of patients. Aggressive therapy of late recurrence, including resection of new tumor masses and pleural metastases, has yielded successive disease-free intervals that validate persistent treatment.
Topics: Humans; Mediastinal Neoplasms; Neoplasm Staging; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms
PubMed: 11154722
DOI: 10.1053/stcs.2000.17955 -
Pathobiology : Journal of... 1992Thymomas are cytologically benign epithelial neoplasms of the thymus gland. They compose 10% of mediastinal tumors, and are most common in the anterosuperior... (Review)
Review
Thymomas are cytologically benign epithelial neoplasms of the thymus gland. They compose 10% of mediastinal tumors, and are most common in the anterosuperior compartment. Seven to 36% of thymomas are malignant, as determined by tissue invasion, yet they metastasize in less than 3% of cases. Distinguishing lymphoma from lymphocyte-predominant thymoma is imprecise due to their histologic similarities. We present a 45-year-old man with intracranial metastatic thymoma. The lesion was interpreted radiographically as meningioma, and as possible lymphoma by frozen section. Flow cytometry proved this neoplasma to be a metastatic thymoma. Sixteen monoclonal antibodies were used to immunophenotype the CD45+ component of this tumor. Coexpression of CD4 and CD8 along with CD1 demonstrated lymphocytes of late cortical thymocyte origin; a second component was cytokeratin positive. This is the first reported case of extrathoracic metastases of thymoma diagnosed using flow cytometry. We propose this method as an invaluable technique to diagnose these histologically difficult neoplasms.
Topics: Aneuploidy; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Antigens, CD; Antigens, Neoplasm; Biomarkers, Tumor; Brain Neoplasms; Combined Modality Therapy; DNA, Neoplasm; Diagnosis, Differential; Flow Cytometry; Frozen Sections; Humans; Immunophenotyping; Keratins; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Meningioma; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Proteins; Neoplastic Stem Cells; Parietal Lobe; T-Lymphocyte Subsets; Thymectomy; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms
PubMed: 1378281
DOI: 10.1159/000163718 -
Journal of Thoracic Oncology : Official... Oct 2013
Topics: Humans; Prognosis; Prospective Studies; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms
PubMed: 24457232
DOI: 10.1097/JTO.0b013e3182a8fd9e -
Journal of Thoracic Oncology : Official... Oct 2010Thymomas are rare epithelial tumors that display significant heterogeneity. Thymomas are usually indolent; however, thymic carcinomas are typically invasive with a high... (Review)
Review
Thymomas are rare epithelial tumors that display significant heterogeneity. Thymomas are usually indolent; however, thymic carcinomas are typically invasive with a high risk of relapse and death. Current treatment approaches are primarily based on clinical stage. Surgery is the mainstay for treatment of early stage disease, whereas multimodality therapy is required for advanced disease. The most important prognostic factors are stage and histology; however, increasing recognition of disease heterogeneity has led to recent exploration of underlying molecular mechanisms. Molecular characterization of thymic tumors may offer strategies to improve diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis. This article describes recently identified molecular characteristics of thymoma and thymic carcinoma that may potentially impact disease classification, targeted therapeutic decision making, and design of future clinical trials.
Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Clinical Trials as Topic; Combined Modality Therapy; Humans; Neoplasm Proteins; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms
PubMed: 20859125
DOI: 10.1097/JTO.0b013e3181f20d9a -
Current Oncology Reports Aug 2012Thymoma is a unique neoplasm of the anterior mediastinum that is frequently associated with indolent growth and a variety of paraneoplastic syndromes. One third of cases... (Review)
Review
Thymoma is a unique neoplasm of the anterior mediastinum that is frequently associated with indolent growth and a variety of paraneoplastic syndromes. One third of cases are detected during the evaluation of myasthenia gravis. Classification systems of thymoma have limited ability in accurately predicting prognosis and course of disease. Thus, staging is the only way to predict clinical behavior. Encapsulated tumors that are surgically resected carry the best prognosis. Adjuvant radiotherapy is recommended for incompletely excised and most invasive thymomas. Chemotherapy in anthracycline-based chemotherapy remains the most effective chemotherapy for neoadjuvant, adjuvant or palliative treatment.
Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; Humans; Neoplasm Staging; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms
PubMed: 22639107
DOI: 10.1007/s11912-012-0246-8 -
Pediatric Surgery International Oct 2007Thymomas are rare mediastinal tumors in pediatrics and cystic thymoma, is characterized by a predominantly cystic formation, is extremely rare. This report describes a... (Review)
Review
Thymomas are rare mediastinal tumors in pediatrics and cystic thymoma, is characterized by a predominantly cystic formation, is extremely rare. This report describes a 13-year-old girl with cystic thymoma, who was treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. The microscopic findings were characteristic of cystic thymoma. The literature on cystic thymoma is reviewed here and the clinical characteristics of cystic thymoma are discussed.
Topics: Adolescent; Female; Humans; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
PubMed: 17674012
DOI: 10.1007/s00383-007-1988-5 -
The Oncologist 2001Thymomas are relatively common tumors of the anterior superior mediastinum. They are usually relatively slowly growing tumors and their prognosis depends on the... (Review)
Review
Thymomas are relatively common tumors of the anterior superior mediastinum. They are usually relatively slowly growing tumors and their prognosis depends on the macroscopic and microscopic invasion of surrounding tissues. Surgery is the mainstay treatment of thymomas, and complete resection represents one of the most important prognostic factors in this disease. Other important prognostic indicators include the tumor stage and size and the presence of symptoms. Postoperative radiotherapy is indicated in tumors with invasion of surrounding tissues, even if resection was radical, since it improves local control and survival. Cytotoxic chemotherapy has been employed in several relatively small phase II studies and in advanced disease has been demonstrated to produce a 50%-80% objective response rate. Neoadjuvant cytotoxic chemotherapy and/or external beam radiotherapy has been used with some success in patients with tumors which are not readily resectable. Novel antiproliferative systemic agents, with both cytotoxic and cytostatic mechanisms of action, are being tested in ongoing prospective clinical trials.
Topics: Humans; Neoplasm Staging; Prognosis; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms
PubMed: 11423670
DOI: 10.1634/theoncologist.6-3-239 -
Cryobiology Oct 2013Thymomas are the most common tumors of the mediastinum. These tumors often compress vital mediastinal organs and severely impact the quality of life of thymoma patients....
Thymomas are the most common tumors of the mediastinum. These tumors often compress vital mediastinal organs and severely impact the quality of life of thymoma patients. To avoid the side effects of chemoradiotherapy, some patients with unresectable malignant thymomas have opted to undergo cryotherapy in our hospital. We reviewed the cryosurgery, nursing and follow-up records of our hospital for the past 8 years, and evaluated the safety and efficiency of cryotherapy in 19 patients with unresectable malignant thymomas. No severe complications involving the vital organs surrounding the tumor occurred during or after cryosurgery. The most common side effect was pleural effusion, which occurred in 11 patients and healed after drainage within 1 week. Cough, mediastinal and pericardial effusions, pneumothorax, mild fever and chest tightness also occurred and resolved 1 week after symptomatic treatment. Since our patients had high KPS scores and mild myasthenia gravis symptoms before the treatment, myasthenia gravis did not occur after the treatment. The progression-free survival of the patients was 14-29 months (median, 18 months), and did not differ between patients with large tumors and those with small tumors (P = 0.6753). In conclusion, cryotherapy is a safe and efficient method for the treatment of unresectable malignant thymoma.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Cryosurgery; Disease-Free Survival; Female; Humans; Iodine Radioisotopes; Male; Middle Aged; Myasthenia Gravis; Pleural Effusion; Thymoma; Thymus Gland; Thymus Neoplasms; Young Adult
PubMed: 23846104
DOI: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2013.06.008 -
Chest Surgery Clinics of North America May 2001Although thymoma is an uncommon tumor, it represents the most frequently encountered tumor of the anterior mediastinum. These tumors represent an interesting and even... (Review)
Review
Although thymoma is an uncommon tumor, it represents the most frequently encountered tumor of the anterior mediastinum. These tumors represent an interesting and even peculiar group of lesions by virtue of their association with paraneoplastic disorders, their relatively indolent course, and their predisposition for local recurrence. The initial treatment of choice for patients with thymoma that do not present with unresectable local or diffuse metastatic disease is complete surgical resection. The goals of surgery are complete excision of the lesion with total thymectomy and complete exploration to rule out the presence of noncontiguous disease that may be resectable. Often, complete resection may require the resection of surrounding involved structures including pericardium, pleura, lung, and even major vascular structures. Some authors have suggested VATS or VATS-assisted techniques for small thymomas. Capsular invasion, however, often can be subtle, and the completeness of resection is of prime importance in countless studies. With recurrences appearing up to 5 and even 10 years postoperatively, time will tell if these minimally invasive techniques are comparable with current standard approaches. Multiple studies have failed to determine conclusively the role of induction chemotherapy and adjuvant radiation. Prospective multi-institutional trials are required to elucidate further the role of such therapies in these rare tumors. In the interim, the authors continue to recommend postoperative radiation for all patients undergoing resection with the exception of stage I patients. Some promising reports on response to chemotherapy have led them to develop an induction chemotherapy protocol for patients with clinically advanced disease.
Topics: Combined Modality Therapy; Humans; Neoplasm Staging; Thymectomy; Thymoma; Thymus Neoplasms
PubMed: 11413765
DOI: No ID Found -
Zhongguo Fei Ai Za Zhi = Chinese... Jan 2021Thymomas are the most common primary malignant tumors of anterior mediastinal. However, there are no specific laboratory indicator for the diagnosis the diagnosis of...
BACKGROUND
Thymomas are the most common primary malignant tumors of anterior mediastinal. However, there are no specific laboratory indicator for the diagnosis the diagnosis of thymoma. The aim of this study was to screen out a tumor marker for diagnosis of thymoma by mRNA microarray analysis and confirmed it.
METHODS
By mRNA microarray analysis of 31 thymomas and peritumoral thymic tissues, we found that the transcription level of neuronal pentraxin 1 (NPTX1) gene was up-regulated more than 4 times in thymomas. To further verify the above results, we detected the transcription and expression level of NPTX1 in 60 thymoma and 30 thymic cyst patients by quantitative Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Furthermore, the diagnostic value of NPTX1 in thymoma by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was analyzed.
RESULTS
The transcription level of NPTX1 mRNA in thymoma tissues was significantly higher than that in the thymic tissues of control group [(2.88±1.02) vs (1.35±0.47), P<0.001); The expression level of NPTX1 in thymoma tissues was significantly higher than that in the thymic tissues of control group (2 vs 1, P<0.001); The preoperative serum level of NPTX1 protein in thymoma patients were significantly higher than that in the thymic cyst patients of control group [(1,018.29±209.38) pg/mL vs (759.95±66.02) pg/mL, P<0.001]; At the threshold of 842.22 pg/mL, sensitivity and specificity of NPTX1 as a serologic marker were 85.00% and 93.33%, respectively for thymoma. ROC showed that the area the under curve (AUC) of NPTX1 was 0.902.
CONCLUSIONS
NPTX1 was highly expressed in thymoma patients, and had diagnostic value for thymoma.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Biomarkers, Tumor; C-Reactive Protein; Diagnosis, Differential; Female; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Male; Middle Aged; Nerve Tissue Proteins; ROC Curve; Thymoma; Young Adult
PubMed: 33478183
DOI: 10.3779/j.issn.1009-3419.2021.102.03