title: [Thymic carcinoma. A clinicopathological study of seven patients].
abstract: The treatment of seven cases of thymic carcinoma is reported. According to the Masaoka classification of the disease, there were five cases of stage III and two of stage IVb. Five were identified histopathologically as squamous cell carcinoma, one as undifferentiated carcinoma, and one as small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Surgery was performed during the course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in 5 cases, and in 2, the organs infiltrated by neoplastic cells were partially excised together. Radiotherapy was performed as adjuvant therapy in one case of partial excision. In another case, after six years of chemotherapy and radiotherapy that yielded a partial response (PR), cancerous infiltration of the chest wall occurred, and partial removal of the chest wall became necessary. After the remaining case showed a PR to chemotherapy, complete macroscopic excision of the tumor was undertaken, but mediastinal lymph gland metastasis was present, and so radiotherapy was also initiated. In two cases, surgery was not performed. One of these was treated with chemotherapy alone, the other, only with radiotherapy. The mean survival period of the five patients who died as a result of their tumors was 44.8 months. One of the two who survived for over four years had squamous cell carcinoma, the other, undifferentiated carcinoma. The case of small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma was assessed as having a PR, and so complete extraction of the thymic neoplasm was carried out, and followed with radiotherapy. This patient is still alive.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory Disease, Department of Internal Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishishimbashi, Minatoku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan.
authors.forename: Taichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mochizuki
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Numata
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: Reiri
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Onodera
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Futosi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kotajima
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Satou
authors.forename: Hisakazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tai
authors.forename: Syuji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satou
authors.forename: Naosi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akiba
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yosimura
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Teruaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D013945:Thymoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery