Advances in Systemic Treatment of Thymic Tumors

ABSTRACT

Thymomas and thymic carcinomas are rare tumors of thymus origin, usually located in the anterior mediastinum. The stage at the time of first diagnosis and complete surgical removal of the thymic tumor are the most important prognostic factors. According to the stage of the patients, treatment strategies including neoadjuvant/adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy should be planned in multidisciplinary tumor boards. However, despite local treatments, a small number of patients may develop recurrence over time or metastasis can be detected at the first diagnosis. Combination chemotherapy regimens with platinum and doxorubicin are the standard firstlline therapy in patients who are not suitable for local treatments. There is no definitively accepted treatment recommendation in secondary care. The results of studies with tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting vascular endothelial growth factor and immunotherapies in patients with progression after first-line therapy have been recently reported. In this review, I analyzed the overall treatment management of patients with thymoma and thymic carcinoma, the results of targeted therapies and immunotherapy studies, and their potential implications for current practice.

Key words: Targeted treatments, immunotherapy, thymic carcinoma, thymom