title: The IASLC/ITMIG thymic malignancies staging project: development of a stage classification for thymic malignancies.
abstract: The lack of an official-stage classification system for thymic malignancies is an issue that hampers progress in this rare disease. A collaborative effort by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the International Thymic Malignancies Interest Group is underway to develop proposals for such a system. A database of more than 10,000 cases worldwide has been assembled to provide a solid basis for analysis. This report outlines the structure of the effort and the process that has been designed.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Thoracic Surgery, Yale New Haven Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; †Thoracic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan; ‡Biostatistics, Cancer Research And Biostatistics, Seattle, Washington; §Radiation Oncology, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada; ‖Medical Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; ¶Thoracic Surgery, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York; #Thoracic Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea; **Thoracic Surgery, University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan; ††Thoracic Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy; ‡‡Pathology, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy; §§Radiology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas; ‖‖Pathology, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, United Kingdom; ¶¶Thoracic Surgery, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan; ##Thoracic Surgery, University of Torino, Torino, Italy; ***Thoracic Surgery, Antwerp University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium; ††† Members of the Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee are listed in the Appendix 1; ‡‡‡ Members of the Advisory Boards are listed in the Appendices 2, 3, and 4; and §§§ Members of the Participating Institutions of the Thymic Domain are listed in the Appendix 5.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Detterbeck
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asamura
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.forename: Conrad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Falkson
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giaccone
authors.forename: Dori
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Giroux
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Jhingook
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lucchi
authors.forename: Mirella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: Edith M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Marom
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: Meinoshin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okumura
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruffini
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Schil
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stratton
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007390:International Agencies; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000592:standards*; D016730:Program Development; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000145:classification* / Q000473:pathology*