1993 Volume 7 Issue 6 Pages 633-637
Ten patients with thymic carcioma were studied clinically : 6 had squamous cell carcioma, one had spindle cell carcinoma, one had undifferentiated carcinoma, one had adenosquamous cell carcinoma, and one had small cell carcinoma. Most of the lesions were dvanced according to Masaoka's classification. The clinical stage was II in one patient, III in one, and IVb in 8. Lymphnode metastases were found in the mediastinum in 8 patients, in the neck in 4, in the abdomen in 2, and in the axilla in one ; hematogenous metastases were present in one patient. In spite of these metastases, 5 patients including 4 with squamous cell carcinoma, could be operated on, and the results were good : mean survival time 23 months, compared with 15.5 months in non-operated patients, in whom local invasion was the main cause of death. Chemotherapy and irradiation showed minimal effects. These data suggest that local control should be the main goal for thymic carcinomas. Wide resection with lymphnode dissection may yield favorable results, especially in squamous cell carcinoma patients.