title: The correlation of morphological features of chest computed tomographic scans with clinical characteristics of thymoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chest computed tomography (CT) scanning has been widely utilized in thymoma identification and staging as well as in follow-up monitoring for recurrence. However, the relationship between some CT imaging features and pathological types, clinical stage, completeness of resection, or prognosis in thymoma has not been well explored.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed preoperative CT imaging for 238 thymoma patients, who had undergone thymectomy from October 2007 to December 2011. All CT parameters were assessed in each case based on clinical and pathological data. Survival analysis was performed by using the Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Tumour contours (P = 0.008), homogeneity (P = 0.009), degree of enhancement (P = 0.013), fat plane obliteration with adjacent structures (P < 0.001), the presence of mediastinal lymphadenopathy (P = 0.010), irregular infiltration into the lung (P = 0.012) and tumour shape (P = 0.007) were associated with the World Health Organization (WHO) histological classification. Lobulated or irregular tumour contours (P < 0.001), presence of calcifications (P = 0.002), infiltration of surrounding fat (P < 0.001), irregular infiltration into the lung (P < 0.001), irregular infiltration into vascular (P < 0.001), more abutment of vessels (P < 0.001) and pulmonary changes adjacent to the tumour (P < 0.001) were associated with the more advanced Masaoka-Koga clinical stage. Tumour contours (P < 0.001), infiltration of surrounding fat (P = 0.008), irregular infiltration into the lung (P < 0.001) and degree of abutment of vessel circumference (P = 0.001) were associated with completeness of resection. With multivariate analysis, no CT image features could reliably predict on the overall or disease-free survival rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CT imaging does have some features, which are significantly correlated with the WHO classification, the Masaoka-Koga clinical staging and the completeness of resection, although it has no definite role to evaluate preoperatively the survival rate of thymoma patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, PR China hqchen1@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Haiquan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Limin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Dingzhong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, PR China.
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013945:Thymoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: CT imaging; Classification; Prognosis; Stage; Thymoma