EPITHELIAL THYMIC NEOPLASMS – CLINICAL FEATURES AND OUTCOMES OF PATIENTS TREATED AT THE ONCOLOGY SERVICE OF THE FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF SÃO PAULO

Introduction: Tumors of the thymus comprise less than 1% of all adult cancers, and only limited epidemiologic data are available about them. Objective: To report our experience with epithelial thymic neoplasms in the last 9 years. Methods: Clinical data from patients with thymic neoplasms seen at our Hospital between 2008 and 2017 were retrospectively collected. Results: Twenty one patients were treated during this period. Thirteen (62%) were female and 8 (38%) were male. Median age at diagnosis was 49 years (range, 26 to 87). Fifteen (71%) patients were diagnosed with thymoma; WHO histologic subtypes were: type A, 1 pt; AB, 3pts; B1, 4 pts; B2, 3 pts, B3, 3pts; 1 case was not classified. Six (28%) patients had thymic carcinoma. Myasthenia gravis was present in 6 (28%) of thymoma patients. There wasn’t any case of pure red cell aplasia. Masaoka stage distribution was: I, 3 pts; II, 4 pts; III, 7 pts; IV, 7 pts. The most common metastatic sites were pleura, peritoneum and lymph nodes. Thirteen (62%) patients underwent thymic resection. Twelve (57%) patients received radiotherapy. Twelve (57%) patients received chemotherapy. CAP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, CDDP) was the main chemotherapy used for thymomas. CAP and the regimen of paclitaxel plus carboplatin were equally used for thymic carcinomas. Progression from first-line chemotherapy was observed in 7 (33%) patients in a median of 12 months (range, 1-20). Median follow-up was 45 months (range, 1 to 104). At the time of the analysis, 14 (67%) patients were alive, 3 (14%) was lost to follow-up, and 4 (19%) had died. Conclusion: A high proportion of advanced stage disease at diagnosis was observed, with possible influences on reduced resectability and survival, despite multimodal treatment offered to most patients.

Publication History

Article published online:
10 July 2025