title: [Clinical study of operated nine thymic carcinomas].
abstract: Nine cases of thymic carcinoma (5 males and 4 females) were operated in our hospital between 1990 and 1998. These cases included 4 squamous cell carcinomas, 2 small cell carcinomas, 2 undifferentiated carcinomas and one adenocarcinoma. Preoperative chemotherapy were performed in 3 cases. All cases underwent median-sternotomy followed by mediastinal irradiation, 4 had total resection of the tumor, 2 had subtotal resection and 3 had exploratory thoracotomy followed by mediastinal irradiation. Adjuvant chemotherapy were administered in 4 cases and re-operation were performed in 2 cases. We applied Masaoka's clinical staging for thymoma, nine cases consisted of 6 stage III cases, 2 stage IV b cases and one stage IV a case. Within 2 years after operation, 3 cases (two complete resection cases and one exploratory thoracotomy case) were died of the carcinoma. However, two cases of squamous cell carcinoma have been alive more than 5 years after surgery followed by chemoradiation. The remaining 4 patients are alive either with or without the carcinoma after 7 to 28 months after operation. Thymic carcinoma is not so common mediastinal tumor but is expected to increase in the future. The treatment of thymic carcinoma remains a controversial matter and the survival is poor compared with invasive thymoma, but multimodal-therapy would contribute to improvement of the results in treatment for thymic carcinoma especially in squamous cell carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miyazawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamanda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Machida
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hanaoka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takasuna
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Numanami
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Makiuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haniuda
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Amano
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*