Thymic epithelial tumors at University Federico II of Naples: A 30-year experience.

Abstract

7603 Background: According to the 2004 WHO classification, thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) comprise different histologies, including thymomas, thymic carcinoma, typical and atypical carcinoids. Histology classification of TETs has a dramatic impact on the prognosis and therapeutic strategy. We here review all TETs treated at our Institution over the past 30 years. Methods: Eligible patients had a pathologically confirmed TET and had at least one access at our Institution. Relevant demographic and clinical data were retrieved. An exploratory analysis was conducted using a step-wise model in patients with completely resected tumors to seek for factors predictive of recurrence after radical surgery. Results: One hundred and three patients with TETs were included in this retrospective analysis. Forty-three were female, sixty were male. Median age was 43 years (range 32-58). Forty-three patients had myasthenia gravis. Four had a thymic neuroendrocrine tumor, 19 had a thymic carcinoma, while the remaining had a thymoma. Forty-seven patients were alive at the time of analysis. Median overall survival was 5.85 years (range, 2.58-9.9). In the whole sample population, seventy-six patients had a completely resected tumor with clear pathological margins. In this sub-group of 76 patients (median age: 46, 35-55; 30 females, 46 males), 12 had a thymic carcinoma and 30 patients recurred after radical surgery. At multivariate analysis, which included age, sex, adjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant radiotherapy, maximum tumor diameter, presence of myasthenia gravis and stage, the only factor significantly predictive of recurrence was tumor histology (odds ratio: 3,8182, 95% CI: 1,03 to 14,1; p = 0.04). Conclusions: We showed that patients with thymic carcinomas are at increased risk of recurrence after radical surgery independently on adjuvant chemotherapy/radiotherapy treatment. Additional therapeutic options are required in the adjuvant setting of completely resected thymic carcinomas.