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Advances in thymic carcinoma diagnosis and treatment: a review of literature

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Abstract

Thymomas account for up to 50 % of anterior mediastinal neoplasms with an incidence of 0.13 per 100,000 person-years in the USA. Thymic carcinoma is a rare malignancy of the thymus gland distinguished from thymomas as it has a more invasive and metastasizing potential conferring poor prognosis. Due to the rarity of thymic carcinoma and the great variety of its histological subtypes, there is no solid evidence on optimal staging, imaging and treatment guidelines. Herein, we systematically review the literature on current clinical practice with regard to diagnostic evaluation, histopathological assessment, management and treatment of squamous thymic carcinoma.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, “Metaxa” Cancer Hospital, 51 Mpotassi Street, 18537, Piraeus, Greece

    J. Syrios, N. Diamantis, E. Fergadis, L. Katsaros, M. Logothetis, E. Lianos, A. Grivas & A. E. Athanasiou

  2. Department of Pathology, “Metaxa” Cancer Hospital, Piraeus, Greece

    Ι. Iakovidou

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  1. J. Syrios
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  2. N. Diamantis
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  3. E. Fergadis
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  4. L. Katsaros
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  5. M. Logothetis
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  6. Ι. Iakovidou
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  7. E. Lianos
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  9. A. E. Athanasiou
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Correspondence to J. Syrios.

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Syrios, J., Diamantis, N., Fergadis, E. et al. Advances in thymic carcinoma diagnosis and treatment: a review of literature. Med Oncol 31, 44 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-014-0044-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-014-0044-2

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