Thymoma: State of the art

Thymoma is the most common tumor of the anterior mediastinum, This tumor is associated with unique paraneoplastic syndromes, such as myasthenia gravis , hypogammaglobulinemia, and pure red cell aplasia. The rarity of this tumo r, however, has somewhat obscured the optimal treatment for this disease. F or the majority of patients who present with localised tumor, surgical exti rpation remains the standard of choice. Adjuvant radiotherapy seems to impr ove local control and survival. In more advanced disease, systemic therapy has been demonstrated to produce a 50% to 80% objective response rate. Thes e observations have led to the development of multimodality therapy for the treatment of patients with advanced thymoma. In this article, we will revi ew the current perspectives on the management of early stage and advanced t hymoma, (C) 1999 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.