The World Health Organization (WHO) histologic classification of thymomas: a reanalysis.
The histologic classification of thymomas has remained for many years an area of conflict. In recent years, the World Health Organization (WHO) presented a proposal for the classification of these tumors, which has been widely adopted in many countries throughout the world. Two successive versions of this classification have been presented in recent years; however, controversy still exists regarding its accuracy and usefulness in clinical practice. We present a review of the current WHO classification of thymomas, with a discussion of some of the inconsistencies and limitations and the possible alternatives to the current approach for the histopathologic classification of these tumors.
Moran
Cesar A
CA
Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Box 85, Houston, TX, USA. cesarmoran@mdanderson.org
Suster
Saul
S
D017677:Age Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000145:classification; D011379:Prognosis; D013945:Thymoma / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology*; D014944:World Health Organization