Preface

Abstract

Epithelial thymic tumors are still a controversial subject sparking continuous debate in the international literature. Lack of agreement persists about the clinical impact of the WHO classification, the staging system, and multidisciplinary management. This clearly contributes to a rise in interest regarding thymoma and thymic carcinoma, including the efforts of thoracic surgeons, pathologists, immunologists, and medical and radiation oncologists. However, answers will not be available until we understand the biology, pathology, and clinical behavior of these tumors. For this reason a closer cooperation with basic scientists should be pursued.The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) gathered a number of experts into a group (the ESTS Thymic Working Group) to work on this project. This issue of the Thoracic Surgery Clinics is the first tangible result of this process, providing an overview of the “state of the art” on thymic tumors. Henceforth, increased cooperation between dedicated experts, working groups, and associations hopefully will lead to the development of uniform guidelines for managing thymoma patients.I would like to address my special thanks to my colleagues in the steering committee of the ESTS Thymic Working Group, Frank Detterbeck, Pascal Thomas, Gaetano Rocco, and Enrico Ruffini, who participated with enthusiasm to this project and strongly contributed to develop a list of interesting articles covering most of the debated topics in this field. I would also extend my personal thanks to all the members of the group who participated with their work and expertise to the preparation of the articles. We have also involved several authors external to the group; their help has strongly contributed to improve the quality of this Thoracic Surgery Clinics issue.A special thank goes to Mark Ferguson, consulting editor and great friend, for his enthusiasm and support; without his continuous help it would have been impossible to achieve this goal.Finally, a special thank goes to Saunders and to the editorial staff, in particular, Mrs Catherine Bewick and Mrs Ruth Malwitz; their continuous support greatly facilitated our work.European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) Thymic Working Group•Steering CommitteeFrank Detterbeck (USA)Pascal Thomas (France)Gaetano Rocco (Italy)Enrico Ruffini (Italy)Federico Venuta (Italy).•Members of the GroupM. Zielinski (Poland): surgery in patients with MGE. Ruffini (Italy): treatment of recurrenceW. Klepetko (Austria): extended resectionsM. Marino (Italy), A. Marx and P. Stroebel (Germany): pathologyG. Giaccone (USA), M. Hatton (GB), P. Loehrer (USA): oncologyF. Mornex (France): radiation therapyN. Girard (France): targeted therapyA. Evoli (Italy): neurology. Epithelial thymic tumors are still a controversial subject sparking continuous debate in the international literature. Lack of agreement persists about the clinical impact of the WHO classification, the staging system, and multidisciplinary management. This clearly contributes to a rise in interest regarding thymoma and thymic carcinoma, including the efforts of thoracic surgeons, pathologists, immunologists, and medical and radiation oncologists. However, answers will not be available until we understand the biology, pathology, and clinical behavior of these tumors. For this reason a closer cooperation with basic scientists should be pursued. The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) gathered a number of experts into a group (the ESTS Thymic Working Group) to work on this project. This issue of the Thoracic Surgery Clinics is the first tangible result of this process, providing an overview of the “state of the art” on thymic tumors. Henceforth, increased cooperation between dedicated experts, working groups, and associations hopefully will lead to the development of uniform guidelines for managing thymoma patients. I would like to address my special thanks to my colleagues in the steering committee of the ESTS Thymic Working Group, Frank Detterbeck, Pascal Thomas, Gaetano Rocco, and Enrico Ruffini, who participated with enthusiasm to this project and strongly contributed to develop a list of interesting articles covering most of the debated topics in this field. I would also extend my personal thanks to all the members of the group who participated with their work and expertise to the preparation of the articles. We have also involved several authors external to the group; their help has strongly contributed to improve the quality of this Thoracic Surgery Clinics issue. A special thank goes to Mark Ferguson, consulting editor and great friend, for his enthusiasm and support; without his continuous help it would have been impossible to achieve this goal. Finally, a special thank goes to Saunders and to the editorial staff, in particular, Mrs Catherine Bewick and Mrs Ruth Malwitz; their continuous support greatly facilitated our work. European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) Thymic Working Group•Steering CommitteeFrank Detterbeck (USA)Pascal Thomas (France)Gaetano Rocco (Italy)Enrico Ruffini (Italy)Federico Venuta (Italy).•Members of the GroupM. Zielinski (Poland): surgery in patients with MGE. Ruffini (Italy): treatment of recurrenceW. Klepetko (Austria): extended resectionsM. Marino (Italy), A. Marx and P. Stroebel (Germany): pathologyG. Giaccone (USA), M. Hatton (GB), P. Loehrer (USA): oncologyF. Mornex (France): radiation therapyN. Girard (France): targeted therapyA. Evoli (Italy): neurology.