Malignant thymoma: Long-term outcomes with radiotherapy

Abstract

We analyzed the clinical outcome of stage II to IV malignant thymoma. This study focused on the treatment of 60 cases that combined surgery (biopsy or resection) and radiation therapy (with or without chemotherapy). Univariate and multivariate analyses of prognostic factors predicting survival were carried out. There is a statistically significant relationship between the extent of surgery and the local control (19.4% of relapse after complete resection vs. 41.2% of relapse after partial resection or biopsy, p = 0.0001). Mediastinal radiation dose (≥50 Gy) had a significant effect in decreasing recurrence (p = 0.0001) and distant metastasis (p = 0.011). The rates of local recurrence (30%) and distant metastasis (25%) justify recommending a higher dose of mediastinal radiation (≥50 Gy) for patients with malignant thymoma.