AB021. A single-arm, multicenter, phase II trial of glucocorticoids induction followed by surgery for advanced thymomas with type B component
Original Research

AB021. A single-arm, multicenter, phase II trial of glucocorticoids induction followed by surgery for advanced thymomas with type B component

Ning Xu, Teng Mao

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

Correspondence to: Teng Mao, MD. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 241 West Huaihai Road, Shanghai 200030, China. Email: hippomao@hotmail.com.

Background: Glucocorticoid was reported to be effective in thymomas, especially thymomas with type B component. This prospective, single arm, phase II trial aims to further study the efficacy and safety of glucocorticoids induction for patients with advanced thymomas.

Methods: Patients with previously treated potentially unresectable tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) (8th) stage III–IVa, histologically confirmed thymomas with type B component were considered eligible for this trial. Enrolled patients would accept high-dose glucocorticoids induction (methylprednisolone 1 g ivgtt d1–3, Q1W, 2 courses; or prednisone 1 mg/kg orally for 2 months) and subsequent surgery. The primary end point was objective response rate to glucocorticoids.

Results: From Jan 2023 to Oct 2024, a total of 30 patients were enrolled including 8 (26.7%) with stage III diseases and 22 (73.3%) with stage IV diseases. The objective response rate was 53.3% with 16 cases of partial response. The rest 14 (46.7%) had stable diseases. No one had progressed disease. No severe adverse event developed during induction. All patients received surgery with complete resection of the tumor. Two cases of air-leak and one case of pneumonia were recorded after surgery.

Conclusions: Glucocorticoid is effective and safe for the treatment of advanced thymomas. It might be a choice of induction therapy before surgery and further research is required.

Keywords: Thymoma; glucocorticoid; induction; surgery

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: Both authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://med.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/med-25-ab021/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Shanghai Chest Hospital (No. IS22100) and individual consent for this retrospective analysis was waived.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/med-25-ab021
Cite this abstract as: Xu N, Mao T. AB021. A single-arm, multicenter, phase II trial of glucocorticoids induction followed by surgery for advanced thymomas with type B component. Mediastinum 2025;9:AB021.

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