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. 2003 Feb;46(1):37-42.

Thymoma: a review of the clinical and pathological findings in 65 cases

Brita Sperling  1 , Jeff Marschall, Renee Kennedy, Punam Pahwa, Rajnl Chibbar
Affiliations

Thymoma: a review of the clinical and pathological findings in 65 cases

Brita Sperling et al. Can J Surg. 2003 Feb.

Abstract
in English, French

Introduction: Although rare, thymoma is the most common tumour of the anterior mediastinum. In an effort to assess the clinical and pathologic characteristics of this tumour and to determine whether clinicopathologic stage or histopathologic classification correlates with clinical outcome, in the Department of Pathology and the Department of Surgery at the University of Saskatchewan we reviewed all cases of thymoma registered in the province of Saskatchewan using the database of the Saskatchewan Cancer Centre.

Methods: In 65 patients with a diagnosis of thymoma or thymic carcinoma identified from the Saskatchewan Cancer Centre database between Jan. 1, 1960, and Dec. 31, 2000, we studied the presentation, diagnostic investigations, therapeutic interventions, tumour size, postoperative course, clinical stage, histopathologic classification, disease recurrence and mortality.

Results: Of the 65 patients, 17 (26%) were asymptomatic and 11 (17%) had symptoms consistent with myasthenia gravis. Surgical resection is most commonly performed through a median sternotomy and frequently requires en bloc resection of one or more adjacent structures. The overall survival of patients with thymomawas found to correlate with the clinical stage as described by Masaoka and colleagues and with complete tumour resection. A trend to clinicopathologic correlation was observed when applying the histologic classification systems of Suster and Moran and the World Health Organisation, but this trend was not statistically significant.

Conclusions: Thymoma is a rare tumour with a variable clinical presentation. Clinical outcome correlates with clinical stage and the ability to achieve complete tumour resection.

Introduction: Bien que rare, le thymome est la tumeur du médiastin antérieur la plus courante. Afin d'évaluer les caractéristiques cliniques et pathologiques de cette tumeur et d'établir s'il existe un lien entre le stade clinicopathologique ou la classification histopathologique et l'issue clinique, nous avons utilisé la base de données du centre de cancérologie de la Saskatchewan pour passer en revue, au Département de pathologie et au Département de chirurgie de l'Université de la Saskatchewan, tous les cas de thymome enregistrés en Saskatchewan.

Méthodes: Nous avons étudié le tableau clinique, les tests diagnostiques, les interventions thérapeutiques, la taille de la tumeur, le traitement après l'intervention, le stade clinique, la classification en histopathologie, la récidive et la mortalité chez 65 patients atteints d'un thymome ou d'un carcinome thymique enregistrés dans la base de données du centre de cancérologie de la Saskatchewan entre le 1er janvier 1960 et le 31 décembre 2000.

Résultats: Des 65 patients, 17 (26 %) ne présentaient pas de symptôme et 11 (17 %) avaient des symptômes compatibles avec ceux de la myasthénie. L'exérèse est pratiquée le plus souvent par sternotomie médiane et exige fréquemment l'ablation monobloc d'au moins une structure adjacente. On a démontré une corrélation entre, d'une part, la survie globale des patients atteints d'un thymome, et d'autre part, le stade clinique décrit par Masaoka et ses collègues et l'exérèse complète. L'application des systèmes de classification histologique de Suster et Moran et de l'Organisation mondiale de la Santé a révélé une tendance à une corrélation avec le stade clinicopathologique, mais cette tendance n'était pas significative sur le plan statistique.

Conclusions: Le thymome est une tumeur rare dont le tableau clinique varie. L'issue clinique est en corrélation avec le stade clinique de même qu'avec la capacité de parvenir à une exérèse complète.

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Figures

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FIG. 1. Survival functions according to the Masaoka staging system (top), the Suster-Moran classification (centre) and the World Health Organisation classification (bottom) in 65 patients with thymoma, when the outcome of interest was death.
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Figure 1. Continued.
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Figure 1. Continued.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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