Thymoma (Thymic Carcinoma)

A neoplasm originating from thymic tissue, usually benign, and frequently encapsulated. Although it is occasionally invasive, metastases are extremely rare. It consists of any type of thymic epithelial cell as well as lymphocytes that are usually abundant. Malignant lymphomas that involve the thymus, e.g., lymphosarcoma, Hodgkin's disease (previously termed granulomatous thymoma), should not be regarded as thymoma. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

Also Known As:

Networked: 3054 relevant articles (202 outcomes, 237 trials/studies)

Relationship Network

Disease Context: Research Results

Related Diseases

1.	Thymoma (Thymic Carcinoma)
2.	Myasthenia Gravis
3.	Neoplasms (Cancer)
4.	Hyperplasia
5.	Anemia

Experts

1.	Marx, Alexander: 23 articles (12/2015 - 07/2002)
2.	Ströbel, Philipp: 17 articles (09/2015 - 03/2003)
3.	Fujii, Yoshitaka: 17 articles (07/2015 - 12/2002)
4.	Okumura, Meinoshin: 16 articles (09/2015 - 09/2002)
5.	Schalke, Berthold: 13 articles (09/2015 - 04/2004)
6.	Sasaki, Hidefumi: 13 articles (07/2015 - 12/2002)
7.	Gilhus, N E: 13 articles (10/2014 - 04/2000)
8.	Loehrer, Patrick J: 12 articles (11/2015 - 01/2004)
9.	Yano, Motoki: 12 articles (07/2015 - 12/2002)
10.	Inoue, Masayoshi: 11 articles (09/2015 - 04/2002)

Drugs and Biologics

Drugs and Important Biological Agents (IBA) related to Thymoma:

1.	Cisplatin (Platino)FDA LinkGeneric 08/01/1993 - "EST 2582 phase II trial of cisplatin in metastatic or recurrent thymoma." 05/15/1982 - "Systematic phase II trials with cis-platinum in invasive thymoma are suggested." 11/01/2014 - "Anthracycline-based regimens with cisplatin have been commonly used for inoperable and relapsed thymoma. " 10/01/2013 - "Masaoka stage IV a thymoma could be safely treated with lung-sparing radical P/D and HITHOC with cisplatin in a multimodality treatment regime. " 08/01/1993 - "In 1982 there were four reports of cisplatin-induced remissions of invasive thymoma. "
2.	Doxorubicin (Adriamycin)FDA LinkGeneric 11/05/1982 - "[Induction of complete remission with adriamycin and cis-platinum in invasive thymoma]." 09/01/2006 - "A case of invasive thymoma that responded well to the administration of a high-dose methylpredonisolone with cisplatin and adriamycin is reported. " 11/01/1990 - "The efficacy of combination cisplatinum, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide in malignant thymoma." 12/01/1986 - "[A case of non-resectable thymoma which responded to the administration of adriamycin, vindesine and 5-FU]." 08/01/1982 - "Combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide and doxorubicin produced a complete remission of the metastatic thymoma which has continued for 13 months. "
3.	Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)FDA LinkGeneric 03/01/2015 - "One hundred and twelve cases were taken cyclophosphamide, and 58 cases with invasive thymoma (stages II , III and IV or WHO type B3 ) were taken cyclophosphamide in combination with radiotherapy. " 03/01/2015 - "The remission rate of MG patients with thymomas increase after thymectomy plus cyclophosphamide or in combination with radiotherapy and reached 81.5% after 2 years. " 03/01/2015 - "[The clinical outcomes of thymectomy combined with radiotherapy or cyclophosphamide treatment for myasthenia gravis patients with thymoma]." 11/01/1990 - "The efficacy of combination cisplatinum, adriamycin and cyclophosphamide in malignant thymoma." 10/01/1998 - "Since Cy-A has been associated with good responses in three cases of thymoma-associated red cell aplasia, we recommend its use in cases of thymoma-associated cytopenias refractory to steroids and cyclophosphamide."
4.	Carboplatin (JM8)FDA LinkGeneric 01/01/2013 - "To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the efficacy of combination chemotherapy consisting of carboplatin and S-1 against thymic carcinoma. " 01/01/2013 - "Successful chemotherapy with Carboplatin and s-1 for thymic carcinoma: a case report." 02/01/2015 - "A multicenter phase II study of carboplatin and paclitaxel for advanced thymic carcinoma: WJOG4207L." 12/01/2014 - "The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of paclitaxel plus carboplatin in advanced thymic carcinoma as second- or further-line treatment in our institute. " 01/01/2014 - "nab-Paclitaxel in Combination with Carboplatin for a Previously Treated Thymic Carcinoma."
5.	AntibodiesIBA 01/01/2014 - "In this study we aimed to determine the positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of these antibodies for thymoma in patients with MG. Antibody findings, thymic histology, and onset age were reviewed for 1141 patients with MG. PPV and NPV of these antibodies for thymoma were determined. " 01/01/1988 - "Approximately 80% (37/45) of the thymomas in the present study reacted with Leu-7, UH-1 or both antibodies, and were thus considered to be derived from cortical thymic epithelium. " 01/01/1978 - "With the aid of an indirect method of immunofluorenscence in the process of a study of 65 blood sera of patients with myasthenia, the authors, demonstrated significant prevalence of antibodies titres to myoid cells and to an epithelial thymus reticulum (especialey in patients with thymomas) in comparison with normals. " 12/01/2015 - "Serum antiacetylcholine receptor antibodies were positive, and imaging showed a thymoma. " 01/01/2015 - "The aim was provide insights in how HRQOL in MG stands across borders and time, compare the scores to general population controls and other chronic disorders and assess the impact of potential predictors for quality of life such as a) clinical characteristics b) antibodies c) thymoma and d) treatment in a population-based cohort. "
6.	Prednisone (Sone)FDA LinkGeneric 01/01/1981 - "The use of prednisone and immuno-suppressive drugs has improved the prognosis of the 20% of the patients with severe life threatening symptoms, half of whom have a thymoma." 05/02/1959 - "Red-cell aplasia and benign thymoma; studies on a case responding to prednisone." 03/01/1993 - "The authors describe a 62-year-old man with a malignant thymoma that was clinically responsive to oral prednisone. " 01/01/1987 - "Pure ocular cases and patients who underwent thymectomy without thymoma had a higher chance to remain in remission after prednisone was stopped. " 04/01/2001 - "A case of invasive thymoma is presented showing tumour regression after palliative treatment with prednisone. "
7.	Vincristine (Oncovin)FDA LinkGeneric 12/01/1998 - "The modulating activity of indomethacin to vincristine (VCR) was investigated in thirty human pulmonary carcinoma cell lines (adenocarcinoma 9, large cell carcinoma 9, squamous cell carcinoma 6, small cell carcinoma 6) and five other cell lines (colon carcinoma 2, melanoma 1, teratocarcinoma 1, thymoma 1). " 03/01/1985 - "Two patients in whom the combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and vincristine produced remission of invasive thymoma are described. " 05/01/1988 - "Combination chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, and vincristine in malignant thymoma and myasthenia gravis." 07/01/2000 - "Fourteen patients with invasive thymoma (12 cases in Masaoka stage III and 2 cases in stage IV a) were treated with 3-4 cycles of CAVP (cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2 D1, adriamycin 30 mg/m2 or epi-adriamycin 40 mg/m2 D1, vincristine 0.6 mg/m2 D1 or vindestine 3 mg/m2 D1, D8, cisplatin 30 mg/m2 D1, 2, 3). " 04/01/1999 - "[A giant invasive thymoma made resectable by cisplatin + vincristine + doxorubicin + etoposide (CODE)]."
8.	Tacrolimus (Prograf)FDA LinkGeneric 05/01/2015 - "The other patient without thymoma initiated treatment with steroid, tacrolimus and IAPP and showed complete recovery one month later. " 05/01/2007 - "In MG, E-C coupling appears to be impaired, particularly in patients with thymoma, and FK506 possibly facilitates E-C coupling. " 05/01/2007 - "Among MG patients, the mean ECCT was longer for patients with thymoma than for those without it (P=0.04), and was shorter for patients treated with FK506 (an immunosuppressant and also an enhancer of RyR related Ca(2+) release) than for those not receiving this treatment (p=0.04). " 03/01/2007 - "Oral administration with tacrolimus significantly improved MG scores 1, 3, and 6 months following the beginning of treatment in all patients (P < 0.05), and the improvement was significantly higher in the thymoma group compared with the nonthymoma group (P < 0.05). " 03/01/2015 - "Other studies evaluated early initiation of tacrolimus after thymectomy, effectiveness of tacrolimus in de novo MG and the effectiveness of tacrolimus post-thymectomy in thymoma patients versus nonthymoma. "
9.	Adrenal Cortex Hormones (Corticosteroids)IBA 03/01/2001 - "Histopathologic changes of thymoma preoperatively treated with corticosteroids." 06/01/1992 - "The thymoma is sensitive to corticosteroids, which can effectively reduce it. " 01/01/1992 - "We review the other few reported cases of complete response achieved by this treatment and we stress the possible use of high doses of corticosteroids in the management of recurrent invasive thymoma." 01/01/1992 - "Dramatic response of recurrent invasive thymoma to high doses of corticosteroids." 04/01/1991 - "In both cases, however, the haemolysis did not abate until some months after excision of the thymoma and subsequent administration of corticosteroids. "
10.	Cyclosporine (Ciclosporin)FDA LinkGeneric 12/01/2015 - "To acquire more insight into this, we assessed the transcriptomic effects of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A (CsA) upon 6 h of exposure of the mouse cytotoxic T cell line CTLL-2, the thymoma EL-4 and primary splenocytes and compared these to the effects in spleens of mice orally treated with CsA for 7 days. " 05/01/1998 - "In conclusion, treatment with cyclosporin may be more effective than other treatments in patients with inveterate MG that is accompanied by thymoma." 01/01/1998 - "Red cell aplasia and megakaryocytic hypoplasia with elevated counts of CD8-positive lymphocytes after resection of a thymoma responding to cyclosporine." 06/01/1984 - "Uptake and nature of the intracellular binding of cyclosporin A in a murine thymoma cell line, BW5147." 06/01/2015 - "Combined therapy of surgery and remission-induction therapy with ciclosporin assumed to be a good strategy of the treatment for the patient with a thymoma associated with PRCA. "

Therapies and Procedures

1.	Thymectomy 06/01/2013 - "Paraneoplastic encephalopathy associated with thymoma is very rare, and symptoms can be improved by thymectomy. " 05/01/2011 - "Here we present the case report of a 70-year-old woman with invasive thymoma and simultaneous PRCA and Good's syndrome, who achieved complete PRCA remission after thymectomy." 06/01/2010 - "Despite the extreme rare concomitance of thymoma and PRCA, we report three consecutive cases, who experienced long-term complete remission of PRCA after extended thymectomy as their only therapy over a 6-year period. " 05/01/2009 - "Clinical and pathological data, complete remission rate as well as overall survival rates were retrospectively analyzed in a cohort of myasthenic patients who underwent extended thymectomy for thymoma between 1993 and 2006. " 02/01/2006 - "In conclusion, thymoma is an adverse prognostic factor for the MG patients who have experienced complete remission after thymectomy. "
2.	Drug Therapy (Chemotherapy) 01/01/2007 - "CAMP therapy was highly effective for invasive thymomas, and the multimodality therapy containing this chemotherapy brought about good disease control in the majority of patients. " 10/01/2000 - "In our experience, primary chemotherapy seems to give best results in advanced thymoma with good tolerability." 04/01/2012 - "Multimodal management based on induction chemotherapy, subsequent surgery and postoperative mediastinal radiation allows a good complete resection rate and it is demonstrated to be a safe and effective treatment to warrant a good long-term survival in stage IVA thymoma patients." 07/01/2007 - "Optimal chemotherapeutic regimen in thymic carcinoma remains uncertain and the efficacy of second line chemotherapy has not been established either. " 01/01/2009 - "The thymomas responded successfully to chemotherapy and the LIP improved following corticosteroid therapy."
3.	Radiotherapy 10/01/2002 - "Therefore, it was revealed that the induction concurrent chemo-radiotherapy for thymic carcinomas is extremely effective for some patients but invalid for other cases." 04/01/2014 - "The results of our study indicate that patients with thymic carcinoma should undertake surgical resection whenever possible; a complete resection and early Masaoka-Koga stage are independent predictors of improved survival; our results also suggest that postoperative radiotherapy is beneficial in improving survival." 11/01/1997 - "Radical external beam radiotherapy alone can give good results in malignant stage III invasive thymomas." 09/01/1996 - "[Thymic carcinoma effectively treated by preoperative concurrent chemo-radiotherapy]." 02/01/1985 - "Postoperative radiotherapy was effective in preventing the recurrence or persistence of thymoma after therapy."
4.	Combination Drug Therapy (Combination Chemotherapy) 12/01/1986 - "Recently, combination chemotherapy for invasive thymoma has been tried and good results have been reported. " 06/01/2002 - "She was treated with combination chemotherapy followed by external beam radiation, and remains in remission 19 months after thymoma was diagnosed. " 04/01/2005 - "[Complete resection for giant thymic carcinoma after simultaneous combination chemotherapy]." 07/01/1998 - "The findings from this case should be of value to the establishment of effective combination chemotherapy regimens for advanced thymic carcinoma." 09/01/1997 - "PAC combination chemotherapy produces response rates in the management of patients with limited thymoma. "
5.	Transplants (Transplant) 10/01/1969 - "When spleen cells from 5-day old or 45-day old neonatally thymectomized animals were given in association with thymoma grafts, only the cells derived from the 5-day old thymectomized mice proved effective in restoring wasted thymectomized hosts. " 09/01/2015 - "The final diagnosis of her skin lesions was thymoma-associated graft-versus-host-like disease. " 09/01/2014 - "Thymoma following coronary bypass graft surgery." 09/01/2013 - "In this report, we describe a very rare case of DEV resulting from SVC graft occlusion after resection of a thymoma. " 07/01/2012 - "The second case was type A Masaoka II thymoma that occurred after a liver transplant. "