Multimodality Treatment for Thymic Carcinoma: Review of 11 Cases at a Single Institute

Abstract

Background: We report ed our experience with thymic carcinomas and review their clinical features, treatment strategies, and prognoses. Methods: From April 1998 to November 2012, 11 patients pathologically diagnosed with thymic carcinoma and treated in our hospital were investigated. Results: There were 7 men and 4 women, with a median age of 62 years (range, 35 - 72). According to the Masaoka staging system, 3 patients had stage II, 1 stage III disease, 3 stage IVa disease and 4 stage IVb disease. Ten patients had squamous cell carcinoma, whereas 1 had large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC). We performed surgery or multimodality therapy including surgery as the initial therapy for 8 patients. Of the non-surgical cases, 1 patient received chemoradiotherapy and survived for over 6 years without recurrence, whereas 2 received palliative care. Three of 4 patients who underwent complete resection survived without disease recurrence, whereas only 1 patient with LCNEC survived in the incomplete resection group. Multimodality therapy with cisplatin and docetaxel was provided to 3 patients, and recurrence has not been observed in any of the cases. Conclusions: Favorable outcomes could be achieved in patients with thymic carcinoma who underwent intensive treatment. In particular, surgery combined with cisplatin and docetaxel plus thoracic irradiation may be an attractive approach for thymic carcinoma.