Management of Thymic Epithelial Tumors
Paulus, A.; Sibille, A.; Bourhaba, M.; Martin, M.; Louis, R.; Duysinx, B.
Revue Medicale de Liege 70(12): 623-628
2015
ISSN/ISBN: 0370-629X PMID: 26867307 Document Number: 680035
Thymic epithelial tumors (TET) are rare. Their optimal care is still poorly defined because of their rarity and of the resulting difficulty to conceive large clinical trials. This review of the literature presents the current clinical and therapeutic data on this form of tumors and underlines the need for a multidisciplinary approach to advanced stage TET. Three clinical situations can be encountered: encapsuled tumors lead to radical surgery; tumors associated with capsular invasion justify a postoperative radiotherapy; advanced stages require a multimodal treatment by chemotherapy, possibly completed by surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy. Besides systemic chemotherapies, the place of new therapeutic strategies, such as somatostatin analogues and targeted treatments, requires to be defined. Treatment of late stage TET is based upon a multidisciplinary dialogue, ideally by a reference team.