概述
Thymic neoplasms represent the most common tumours of the anterior mediastinum in adults, and include
both thymomas and thymic carcinomas. Thymomas account for approximately 20 percent of mediastinal
tumours, with incidence rates of 0.18 per 100,000 for men and 0.10 per 100,000 for women.1
Thymic
carcinomas are rare tumours, accounting for less than one percent of mediastinal tumours; these tumours
are more invasive than thymomas, and often have a higher rate of relapse and a poorer prognosis.2-4 The
existing literature on treatments for thymic neoplasms consists of relatively small studies of multimodality
treatments, mostly in the form of retrospective case series reports. No randomized controlled study has
been reported to date on any treatment modality in this disease. Total resection of the tumour has been
repeatedly reported to be the most important factor affecting the rate of survival.5
In partially resected or
unresectable tumours, there is a growing body of literature suggesting that neoadjuvant and adjuvant
radiotherapy and chemotherapy combinations provide varying degrees of benefit to patients with thymic
neoplasms.