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Review
. 2024 Apr 26:8:33.
doi: 10.21037/med-23-47. eCollection 2024.

Update on thymic epithelial tumors: a narrative review

Luis Cabezón-Gutiérrez  1   2 , Vilma Pacheco-Barcia  1 , Fátima Carrasco-Valero  3 , Magda Palka-Kotlowska  1 , Sara Custodio-Cabello  1 , Parham Khosravi-Shahi  4
Affiliations
Review

Update on thymic epithelial tumors: a narrative review

Luis Cabezón-Gutiérrez et al. Mediastinum. .

Abstract

Background and objective: Thymoma, thymic carcinoma and thymic neuroendocrine tumors originate from the epithelial cells of the thymus and account for the thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). Although TETs are uncommon, they are the most frequent tumor type in the anterior mediastinum. Multidisciplinary approach is essential for their correct management. The aim of the present review is to summarize the update management for TETs.

Methods: For this review, we searched in Excerpta Medica database (EMBASE) and MEDLINE until 6 September 2023. The terms used in the search included thymoma, thymic carcinoma, thymic epithelial tumors, management, immunotherapy, multiple tyrosine kinases inhibitors.

Key content and findings: The therapeutic approach is based on histology and tumor stage and may involve surgery with or without neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment. In the metastatic setting, platinum-based chemotherapy is the standard of care and patients who do not respond to first-line treatment have limited treatment options mainly because of the poor efficacy shown in subsequent lines of therapy.

Conclusions: Future research should focus on identifying predictive biomarkers for patients with TETs, and should implement multicenter collaborations and appropriate clinical trials tailored for rare tumor types. Immune check point inhibitors, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and antiangiogenic multikinase inhibitors have also been studied in this clinical setting.

Keywords: Thymoma; thymic carcinoma; thymic epithelial tumors (TETs); thymic neuroendocrine tumors and management.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://med.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/med-23-47/coif). L.C.G. reports he received payment for presentations of Roche, Astra Zeneca, Brystol Myers Squibb, Merck Serono, Ipsen Pharma, Grunenthal, Kyowa Kirin, Pfizer and Eisai and received support for attending meetings from Roche, Merck, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Nutricia. V.P.B. reports she received a grant as an award from Merck and FSEOM, payment for presentations of Merck, Eli Lilly, Eisai and Pierre Fabre and received support for attending meetings from Roche, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck, Amgen, Merck Sharp and Dhome, and Nutricia. V.P.B. also reports she participated in an advisory board from advanced accelerator applications, a Novartis company. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

References

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