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Clinical features and prognostic factors in thymoma and thymic carcinoma

  • Original Article
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Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Invited Editorial to this article was published on 04 June 2024

Abstract

Introduction

Thymic epithelial tumors represent the most common cause of anterior mediastinal masses in adults. Among these tumors, thymomas constitute the majority, whereas thymic carcinomas are less prevalent and associated with a poorer prognosis. This study seeks to investigate the clinical and prognostic factors of these rare entities, thymoma, and thymic carcinomas.

Materials and methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis on a cohort of 60 patients diagnosed with thymoma and thymic carcinoma, who were under follow-up at our clinic between January 1998 and February 2023. The clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of these patients were analyzed separately.

Results

Thymomas accounted for 75% of the cases. The median age at diagnosis was 46 years in both patient groups. Masaoka stage 4 was observed in 28.9% of thymoma patients and 66.7% of thymic carcinoma patients. The median overall survival (mOS) for thymoma patients was 261.4 months, while it was 9.23 months for patients with thymic carcinoma. Curative surgery emerged as a prognostic factor significantly influencing overall survival in both thymoma and thymic carcinoma patients.

Conclusion

Our study highlights the significance of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status and curative surgery as prognostic factors affecting overall survival in thymoma patients. In thymic carcinoma, only curative surgery was found as a prognostic factor. These findings may enhance patient care and guide personalized treatment strategies. Further investigations and prospective studies are warranted to corroborate and expand upon these results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara City Hospital, Ankara, 06000, Turkey

    Doğan Bayram, Serhat Sekmek, Murat Bardakçı & Emre Hafızoğlu

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Mehmet Kayaalp

  3. Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara City Hospital, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey

    Gökhan Uçar, Efnan Algin, Oznur Bal, Burak Civelek, Fahriye Tugba Kos & Dogan Uncu

  4. Department of Medical Oncology, Ankara City Hospital, University of Yildirim Beyazit, Ankara, Turkey

    Mehmet Ali Nahit Şendur

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  1. Doğan Bayram
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  2. Serhat Sekmek
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doğan Bayram.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The institutional ethics committee approved this study. All procedures followed were by the ethical standards of the responsible committee and the latest Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent was not obtained from the patients due to the retrospective study design. Ankara City Hospital Clinical Research Ethics Committee approved that informed consent is not required (Date:10.05.2023 / No: E1-23–3546).

Conflict of interest

In our study, we did not receive any financial support or sponsorship. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest among them. All the research and analysis were conducted independently without any external influence or funding. The study was solely driven by the scientific curiosity and dedication of the authors to contribute to the field of thymic epithelial tumors. The absence of any financial or personal conflicts of interest ensures the objectivity and integrity of our research findings.

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Bayram, D., Sekmek, S., Kayaalp, M. et al. Clinical features and prognostic factors in thymoma and thymic carcinoma. Indian J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12055-024-01741-6

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