Thymoma: Surgical Results of 73 Cases

Abstract

Purpose : Thymomas are uncommon tumours; they represent a broad spectrum of morphological and clinical behaviour. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence survival.

Method : Seventy-three patients with thymoma who underwent thymectomy between 1980 and 2002 were reviewed. Prognostic factors assessed were: age, sex, presenting symptoms, histological features, stage at diagnosis and extent of surgical resection.

Results : Complete resection was achieved in 67 patients and incomplete in 6. Survival rates of patients in the 1^st or 2^nd stages were 100% and 92.8% for 10 years, respectively. A high incidence of myasthenia gravis (MG) associated thymomas (80.8%) was found. These patients had better survival rates when compared to non-myasthenic patients. However the mortality rate for malign thymomas was high (65.7%) due to tumoral invasion. The histological types of thymoma did not influence the survival rate.

Conclusions : The association of MG with thymoma enables earlier detection of tumour, thus higher survival rates were achieved in these patients. Survival was also related to the stage of the tumour at diagnosis and the completeness of resection.

Key Words:

• Thymoma
• myasthenia gravis

Additional information

Notes on contributors

T. Tansel

T. Tansel, M.D. Istanbul University, Istanbul Medical Faculty Department of Cardiovascular Surgery Capa, 34390, Istanbul, Turkey Tel.: + 90 212 414 20 00–32424 Fax: [phone] E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]