Diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of thymoma: an analysis of 116 cases
Wang, Y.; Sun, Y'e.; Zhang, J.; Zhou, N.; Liu, Y.; Li, X.; Xu, Y.
Chinese Medical Journal 116(8): 1187-1190
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0366-6999 PMID: 12935408 Document Number: 564268
Objective: To study the diagnosis and treatment of thymoma and to assess its prognostic factors. Methods: The clinical data of 116 patients with thymoma were collected. A retrospective analysis was performed, by comparing the survival rate calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method with the rate of recurrence or metastasis. Results: The standard posteroanterior and lateral chest radiographs were reliable means of detection of most thymomas. Myasthenia gravis was the most commonly paraneoplastic disease (25.0%, 29/116). The extensive radical resection was beneficial for reducing the rate of recurrence of stage I or stage II thymomas (chi2=4.941, P=0.0219). The survival time could be prolonged by postoperative radiotherapy and chemotherapy. There was a strong correlation between the clinical stage and the histological classification (according to MH classification), through which the invasive behavior of thymoma could be predicted (chi2=19.76, P=0.007, RR=1.47). The 3- 5- and 10-year survival rates were 81.2%, 67.9%, and 40.5%, respectively. Statistical analysis showed a significant negative correlation between the stage and the survival rate (chi2=29.73, P=0.0000, RR=0.15). Conclusion: The prognosis of thymoma depends mainly on the histological classification, clinical stage and multimodality treatment rather than on the paraneoplastic diseases.