Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics, long-term outcomes, and prognostic factors influencing recurrence and survival in patients with thymic carcinoma.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 171 patients with pathologically confirmed thymic carcinoma who were treated at our center between December 1970 and November 2014. Clinicopathological characteristics (age, sex, histological subtype, presence or absence of myasthenia gravis, symptoms, tumor size, and Masaoka-Koga stage), treatment modalities, and clinical outcomes [overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS)] were analyzed.
Results: The median follow-up was 30 (range, 3-141) months. The median survival time of all 171 patients was 64 (95% confidence interval: 42.4–93.6) months. The 5- and 10-year OS rates were 51.5% and 22.6%, respectively. The median PFS was 19 (95% confidence interval: 15.1–26.9) months. The 5-year PFS rate was 24.2%. From the univariate and multivariate analyses, symptoms, surgical resection, Masaoka-Koga stage, and radiotherapy (RT) were identified as independent prognostic factors for OS and PFS.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that an asymptomatic tumor, surgical resection, radiotherapy, and early Masaoka-Koga stage are favorable prognostic factors for survival in thymic carcinoma patients.
