Thymoma: Benign Appearance, Malignant Potential

Thymoma is a rare tumor with a largely indolent growth pattern. It does, however, have malignant potential as a result of its ability to invade locally and metastasize regionally. Often associated with a number of immune‐ and nonimmune‐mediated paraneoplastic syndromes, patient outcomes are directly...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The oncologist (Dayton, Ohio) Ohio), 2006-09, Vol.11 (8), p.887-894
Main Authors: Riedel, Richard F., Burfeind, William R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adjuvant radiation
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use
Chemotherapy
Combined Modality Therapy
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
Neoadjuvant Therapy
Neoplasm Staging
Paraneoplastic syndromes
Radiotherapy, Adjuvant
Surgery
Thymectomy
Thymoma
Thymoma - diagnostic imaging
Thymoma - pathology
Thymoma - therapy
Thymus Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging
Thymus Neoplasms - pathology
Thymus Neoplasms - therapy
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Summary:Thymoma is a rare tumor with a largely indolent growth pattern. It does, however, have malignant potential as a result of its ability to invade locally and metastasize regionally. Often associated with a number of immune‐ and nonimmune‐mediated paraneoplastic syndromes, patient outcomes are directly related to stage of disease and the ability to achieve a complete surgical resection. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment, with adjuvant radiation recommended for invasive thymoma. Sensitive to both chemotherapy and radiation, durable responses are achievable in incompletely resected and inoperable patients. We present two cases of thymoma followed by a general discussion with an emphasis on treatment for both early and advanced‐stage disease.
ISSN:1083-7159
1549-490X
DOI:10.1634/theoncologist.11-8-887