Thymic carcinoma: a report of 13 cases

Objective: Thymic carcinoma is a rare thymic neoplasm. It is more invasive and has a poorer prognosis than thymoma. We report our experience in the tr eatment of 13 thymic carcinomas. Methods: Thirteen patients with histologically confirmed thymic carcinoma w ere treated from June 1989. Six patients underwent surgery, followed by adj uvant therapy. Seven patients underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by surgery and post-operative radiotherapy. Results: The diagnosis of thymic carcinoma was achieved in six cases by a m ediastinotomy, in three cases by a ultrasound-guided or a CT-guided fine ne edle aspiration and in three cases the pre-operative diagnosis was thymoma. In one case we did not have the histological diagnosis. All seven patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy responded. The surgical resection wa s complete in seven cases. Eight patients are still alive 8-142 months from the diagnosis, and six are disease-free. Conclusions: Our experience supports the role of surgery and post-operative radiotherapy in thymic carcinomas. Pre-operative treatment of such neoplas ms by multi-drug chemotherapy may improve the resectability and the surviva l rate. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.