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Acta Oncol 2019 Feb 20:1-5. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

a University of Florida Health Proton Therapy Institute , Jacksonville , FL , USA.

Objective: Thymic malignancies (TM) are rare tumors with long-term survivorship, causing concerns for radiotherapy-related late side effects. Proton therapy (PT) reduces the radiation dose to organs at risk, potentially decreasing long-term toxicities while preserving disease control. We report patterns-of-care and early clinical outcomes after PT for thymoma and thymic carcinoma. Read More

Surg Case Rep 2019 Feb 18;5(1):29. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Department of Surgery, Japanese Red Cross Okayama Hospital, 2-1-1 Aoe, Kita-ku, Okayama city, Okayama, 700-8607, Japan.

Background: Ectopic hamartomatous thymoma, which usually occurs in the lower neck, is a rare benign tumor containing spindle cells, epithelial nests, and adipose tissue. Although the origin of this tumor is still unknown, recent reports suggest that the designation of this tumor is inappropriate.

Case Presentation: A 38-year-old with an anterior cervical mass in the suprasternal region of her neck was referred to our hospital. Read More

Clin Lung Cancer 2018 Dec 21. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford, CA.

Introduction: Thymic epithelial tumors (TET) are rare malignancies with a paucity of data on biology and therapeutics. Galectin-1 is a member of the β-galactoside binding protein family and has been shown to mediate tumor growth via modulation of immune cell function. This study examined galectin-1 expression in TET. Read More

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med 2018 21;5(3):000780. Epub 2018 Mar 21.

Department of Internal Medicine, Villarrobledo General Hospital, Villarrobledo, Albacete, Spain.

We present the case of a 57-year-old man with ataxia and clinical and radiological features of cerebellar degeneration. Computed tomography showed a mediastinal mass and the patient was diagnosed with thymic carcinoma. Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration is aninfrequent disorder and its association with thymic carcinoma very rare. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Dec;10(12):6794-6802

Department of Radiology & Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Lab of Shaanxi Province, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University (Air Force Medical University), Xi'an 710038, China.

Background: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are the most common primary thymus tumors, but neither the possible ethnical/regional differences in the incidence of TETs nor the inter-relationships among the clinical variables has been revealed in northwest China.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed among pathologically confirmed TET patients from January 2004 to December 2015 in a tertiary general hospital of northwest China and the incidence, clinical features and the inter-relationships among clinical variables were analyzed.

Results: A total of 603 pathologically confirmed TETs patients (age range, 5-78 years; 308 males) were enrolled and the most common lesion location was anterior mediastinum (98. Read More

SAGE Open Med Case Rep 2019 1;7:2050313X19827749. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Osaka Medical College Hospital, Takatsuki, Japan.

Thymomas are tumors originating from the thymus epithelial cells and are the most common tumors of the anterior mediastinum. They have been classified into types A, AB, B1, B2, and B3 by the World Health Organization. Type B3 thymoma is composed of epithelial cell sheets with mild to moderate atypia and scant lymphocytes. Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2019 Feb 2. Epub 2019 Feb 2.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Medicine Essen - Ruhrlandklinik. Electronic address:

Background: Thymic epithelial and neuroendocrine carcinomas are rare malignancies and only few prognosticators are defined. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment and complete resection contributes to superior outcome. Systematic lymph node dissection is not routinely performed in thymic malignancies. Read More

Neurochirurgie 2019 Feb 30;65(1):43-48. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Department of neurosurgery, CHU-hôpital Nord, Marseille, France.

Thymic epithelial tumors (TET) are rare lesions. The brain metastases of these tumors are even rarer. We report a case of brain metastases in a known patient with a thymic carcinoma diagnosed in October 2016. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Feb;98(5):e14351

Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Rationale: Cystic parathyroid adenomas are rare and seldom arise in ectopically located glands which may be found within the carotid sheath, mediastinum, thymus, or thyroid grand. They cannot be detected consistently by any imaging methods. Unusual symptoms may bring about certain pitfalls and difficulties for the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) caused by cystic parathyroid adenomas. Read More

Indian J Cancer 2018 Jul-Sep;55(3):288-291

Department of Medical Oncology, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

Background: Thymic epithelial tumors (TET) are the most common tumors of the anterior mediastinum. Patients with advanced/metastatic disease are usually treated with palliative chemotherapy (CT). Unfortunately, even though various palliative CT regimens have been used for long time, there is a real scarcity of published Indian data regarding the experience of palliative CT in metastatic TET (mTET). Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Jan;98(3):e14198

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Rationale: Metastatic thymic carcinoma in the spine is a rare disease with no standard curative managements yet. The objective of this study is to report a very rare case of spinal metastases of thymic carcinoma successfully operated by combination of instrumentation and cement augmentation together with adjuvant treatment. The management of these unique cases has yet to be well-documented. Read More

Clin Cancer Res 2019 Jan 15. Epub 2019 Jan 15.

Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.

To investigate blood-based dynamic biomarkers that predict responses to anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy in solid tumors. Preplanned biomarker analysis was performed as part of a phase II clinical trial (NCT02607631) in patients with metastatic or refractory thymic epithelial tumors (TETs; = 31) who received pembrolizumab. The biomarker was further tested in an independent cohort of prospectively recruited patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received pembrolizumab or nivolumab (NSCLC cohort 1; = 33) and validated in an independent cohort of patients with NSCLC (NSCLC cohort 2; = 46). Read More

Pituitary 2019 Jan 14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Endocrinology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, China.

Purpose: To explore the clinical characteristics of pituitary adenomas in patients with MEN1 and to summarize treatment strategies for MEN1 in a Chinese population.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 54 MEN1 patients with pituitary adenomas diagnosed at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from March 2003 to January 2017. Clinical data, laboratory testing results, treatments of involved glands and treatment responses were collected and analyzed. Read More

Surg Neurol Int 2018 13;9:253. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Neurophysiology, Puerta de Hierro University Hospital, Madrid, Spain.

Background: Spinal dissemination of thymic tumors is rare but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of thoracic dumbbell-shaped lesions and/or vertebral tumors, irrespective of the time since the initial diagnosis.

Case Description: A 63-year-old man, with a history of invasive type AB thymoma treated 21 years ago, newly presented to the hospital with a dumbbell-shaped T8-T9 lesion compressing the spinal cord. A review of the literature showed only 16 previous cases of thymic tumors with thoracic spine involvement. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Jan 9. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Department of Pathology, GROW-School for Oncology & Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Background: The etiology of thymic epithelial tumors is unknown. Murine polyomavirus strain PTA has been shown to induce thymomas in mice. Recently, using diverse molecular techniques, we reported the presence of human polyomavirus 7 (HPyV7) in thymic epithelial tumors. Read More

Cancer Med 2019 Jan 1;8(1):216-226. Epub 2019 Jan 1.

General Thoracic Surgery, Toneyama National Hospital, Toneyama, Japan.

Background: The significance of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and immune checkpoint proteins in thymic carcinoma remains unknown. We examined the clinical significance of EMT, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes expressing the immune checkpoint protein, programmed cell death 1 (PD-1 + TILs), and the expression of PD-1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) in thymic carcinoma (TC). We also investigated the relationships between these immune checkpoint proteins and the EMT status and examined the impact of induction chemotherapy on patients with tumors that express these proteins. Read More

Bull Cancer 2018 Dec;105 Suppl 1:S16-S23

Sorbonne Université, GRC N° 04, Theranoscan, AP-HP, Hôpital Tenon, F-75020, Paris, France; Service de pneumologie, AP-HP, Hôpital Tenon, F-75020, Paris, France. Electronic address:

Immunotherapy In Thoracic Oncology: STATE OF THE ART AND PERSPECTIVES: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are monoclonal antibodies that inhibit molecular interaction between an immune checkpoint and its ligand, which leads to increased anti-tumoral immune response, Programmed Death 1 (PD-1) and Cytotoxic T-Lymphocyte Associated-4 (CTLA-4) are the most commonly known immune checkpoints. ICIs are currently placed early in the course of the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In France, approvals have been pronounced for nivolumab and pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1 antibodies) as second-line treatments after chemotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC, and pembrolizumab has been approved as a first-line treatment in patients with advanced NSCLC, without EGFR mutation or ALK rearrangement, with strong (≥50%) PD-L1 (Programmed Death Ligand 1) expression. Read More

Bull Cancer 2018 Dec;105 Suppl 1:S113-S120

Fondation Synergie-Lyon-Cancer, 28, rue Laennec, 69008 Lyon, France.

The New Vaccine Approaches In Oncology: The concept of cancer vaccine relies on the induction of an adaptive immune response against antigens presented by tumor cells, in order to allow a long-term control of the tumor. First generations of cancer vaccines have been associated with relatively disappointing clinical results. The therapeutic breakthrough provided by the immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1/PD-L1, and the demonstration of the key role played by mutation-associated neoantigens in anti-tumor T cell response, have led to a renaissance of cancer vaccination. Read More

Ann Surg 2018 Dec 21. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

INSERM, U1231, Epidemiology and Clinical Research in Digestive Cancers Team, Dijon, France.

Objective: To assess the distant metastatic potential of duodeno-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (DP-NETs) in patients with MEN1, according to functional status and size.

Summary Background Data: DP-NETs, with their numerous lesions and endocrine secretion-related symptoms, continue to be a medical challenge; unfortunately they can become aggressive tumors associated with distant metastasis, shortening survival. The survival of patients with large nonfunctional DP-NETs is known to be poor, but the overall contribution of DP-NETs to metastatic spread is poorly known. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Dec;97(51):e13796

Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

Rationale: Malignant thymoma in the spine is a rare disease without standard curative managements so far. The objective of this article is to report a very rare case of recurrent malignant thymoma with sacrum metastases causing severe lumbosacral pain, which was presented with acute radiculopathy and treated with 2 operations combined with stabilization and cement augmentation. The management of these unique cases is not well-documented. Read More

Nuklearmedizin 2018 12 18;57(6):N55-N56. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

Cancer 2019 Mar 18;125(5):807-817. Epub 2018 Dec 18.

Center for Precision Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Background: The management of most solid tumors of the anterior mediastinum involves complete resection. Because of their location near mediastinal structures, wide resection is not possible; therefore, surgeons must use subjective visual and tactile cues to determine disease extent. This clinical trial explored intraoperative near-infrared (NIR) imaging as an approach to improving tumor delineation during mediastinal tumor resection. Read More

BMC Cancer 2018 Dec 13;18(1):1249. Epub 2018 Dec 13.

Department of Surgery, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.

Background: Thymomas are typically slow-growing tumors and AB type thymomas are considered no/low risk tumors with a better prognosis. Extra-thoracic metastases are extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, no patient with an isolated splenic metastasis from a thymoma has been reported. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Dec;97(49):e13563

Department of Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Faculty of Medicine and Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

Rationale: An association between inflammatory myopathy and malignancy has been recognized particularly in patients positive for anti-transcription intermediary factor 1γ (TIF1γ) antibody. We report a case of anti-TIF1γ antibody positive dermatomyositis (DM) associated with thymic carcinoma which radiographically mimicked benign tumor.

Patient Concerns: A 72-year-old man presented typical characteristic cutaneous manifestations and proximal muscle weakness with elevated levels of myogenic enzymes. Read More

Hum Pathol 2018 Dec 8. Epub 2018 Dec 8.

Department of Pathology, The university of Texas, M D Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Electronic address:

Eight cases of primary thymic epithelial neoplasms corresponding to seven thymomas and one thymic carcinoma with sebaceous differentiation are presented. The patients are five men and three women between the ages of 45 and 63years (average: 54years) who presented with non-specific symptomatology related to their mediastinal mass. All patients underwent complete surgical resection of the mediastinal mass. Read More

J Ethnopharmacol 2019 Mar 5;232:11-20. Epub 2018 Dec 5.

School of Preclinical Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China. Electronic address:

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: In traditional Chinese medicine, supplementing Qi and strengthening body resistance are an important principle of anticancer treatment. Panax ginseng C.A. Read More

Respir Med Case Rep 2019 13;26:39-41. Epub 2018 Nov 13.

Division of Respiratory Medicine, Center for Respiratory Diseases, National Hospital Organization Kyoto Medical Center, Kyoto, Japan.

Thymic carcinomas is rare and highly aggressive carcinoma. Most patients with them are diagnosed as being at surgically unresectable stages due to it. There are several reports which showed the effect of chemotherapy, however, it is controversial. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Oct;10(10):5822-5832

Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan.

Background: The purpose of our study was to investigate the correlation between tumor volume (TV) and each subtype of thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) based on the World Health Organization (WHO) classification and Masaoka staging.

Methods: Sixty-one consecutive patients (45 thymomas and 16 thymic carcinomas) were studied. All were classified according to Masaoka staging: 31 non-invasive TETs (stage I) and 30 invasive TETs (8 stage II, 11 stage III, 3 stage IVa, and 8 stage IVb). Read More

Ann Diagn Pathol 2019 Feb 22;38:71-79. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America.

It is uncertain whether thymic neuroendocrine tumors (NET) associated with Cushing's syndrome (CS) produce corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and whether the thymus contains ACTH and/or CRH cells that could originate NET. The clinicopathologic features of 5 typical (TC) and 6 atypical carcinoids (ATC), 10 additional non-neoplastic thymi, 6 adrenal glands with bilateral nodular hyperplasia and 8 adrenal cortical adenomas were reviewed. Representative slides were immunostained for ACTH and CRH. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Oct;10(Suppl 29):S3516-S3520

KData Clinical, Rome, Italy.

The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) thymic database is a satellite database of the ESTS registry collecting patients with thymic tumors (thymomas, thymic carcinomas and neuroendocrine thymic tumors) among the ESTS Institutions. The database is free of charge for any ESTS member, easily accessible to any ESTS institution, web-based, prospective, periodically maintained and updated. It may serve as an institutional database for the storage of data about patients with thymic tumors at no cost for each participating institution. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Nov;97(48):e13231

Department of Thyroid Surgery,West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.

The indication for autotransplantation of parathyroid glands is still controversial. A new classification of parathyroid glands based on the positional relationship among parathyroid glands, thyroid gland and thymus was created to decide in situ preservation or autotransplantation during thyroid surgery.A retrospective study included patients with papillary thyroid cancer who underwent total thyroidectomy with bilateral central lymph node dissection between November 2014 and November 2016. Read More

Appl Immunohistochem Mol Morphol 2018 Nov 28. Epub 2018 Nov 28.

Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.

Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are uncommon neoplasms of the mediastinum. The gold standard treatment is complete surgical resection which can be followed by radio/chemotherapy in selected cases. Targeted tyrosine kinase inhibition can be considered in only a limited number of aggressive or metastatic tumors as EGFR, BRAF, or c-kit mutations are rare. Read More

J Clin Pathol 2019 Mar 22;72(3):251-257. Epub 2018 Nov 22.

Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA

T-lymphoblastic lymphoma and thymoma are distinct primary mediastinal neoplasms that can have similar clinical presentations and overlapping histological features. Microscopic distinction is occasionally difficult because the immature lymphocytes associated with thymoma may resemble T-lymphoblastic leukaemia/lymphoma cells, morphologically and immunohistochemically. An accurate diagnosis assumes particular importance since the treatment approaches for these two entities differ considerably. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2018 Nov;97(47):e13286

Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.

Rationale: Thymic carcinoids are a rare type of malignant neuroendocrine tumors which have a poor prognosis due to their distant metastasis, invasive behaviour, and postoperative recurrence. Surgical resection is still the fundamental mode for treating thymic carcinoids. Here, we report the rapid shrinkage of an atypical thymic carcinoid with multiple metastases following chemoradiation plus octreotide as a first-line therapy PATIENT CONCERNS:: A 39-year-old Chinese man presented with chest tightness, dyspnea with a history of lumbago and untreated malignant thymoma. Read More

J Cardiothorac Surg 2018 Nov 20;13(1):120. Epub 2018 Nov 20.

Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.

Background: Intra-thymic bronchogenic cysts are a rare entity but should be considered in the differential of all non-invasive thymic masses.

Case Presentation: We describe a 50-year-old patient who was found to have an incidental thymic mass on computer tomography of the chest. Non-invasive thymoma was suspected and a thoracoscopic thymectomy was performed. Read More

J Cardiothorac Surg 2018 Nov 19;13(1):119. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.

Background: The introduction of the new TNM staging system for thymic epithelial malignancies produced a significant increase in the proportion of patients with stage I disease. The identification of new prognostic factors could help to select patients for adjuvant therapies based on their risk of recurrence. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) has recently gained popularity as reliable prognostic biomarker in many different solid tumors. Read More

Tohoku J Exp Med 2018 11;246(3):167-174

Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Dokkyo Medical University.

L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) functions to transport large neutral amino acids, such as leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, methionine, and histidine. These amino acids are essential for cell growth and proliferation. Many studies have demonstrated LAT1 expression in various types of cancer, and its high expression level was associated with poor prognosis. Read More

Lung Cancer 2018 Nov 7;125:35-42. Epub 2018 Sep 7.

Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Objectives: The expression of immune checkpoint ligand PD-L1 has been reported in various tumors. The expression of IDO and FOXP3 Tregs are considered to be associated with tumor-induced tolerance and poor outcome. Their prognostic role in surgically treated thymoma and thymic carcinoma, however, has not been investigated. Read More

Oncologist 2018 Nov 9. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Department of Integrative Oncology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China

Background: Thymic atypical carcinoid (TAC) is a rare thymic neuroendocrine tumor that originates in the neuroendocrine system and lacks a standardized treatment. The combination of capecitabine (CAP) and temozolomide (TEM) is associated with an extremely high and long-lasting response rate in patients with metastatic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. However, there is little evidence showing that the CAPTEM regimen is effective for TAC. Read More

Thorac Cancer 2019 Jan 9;10(1):17-23. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Department of Thoracic Oncology II, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.

Background: Thymoma and thymic carcinoma are rare thymic epithelial tumors. We investigated the efficacy of first-line gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP) chemotherapy versus gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy combined with the anti-angiogenic drug endostar (GP + E) in advanced thymoma and thymic carcinoma.

Methods: The records of 45 patients with invasive metastatic thymomas or thymic carcinomas treated with GP as first-line therapy between August 2008 and July 2017 at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute were retrospectively reviewed. Read More

Invest New Drugs 2018 Nov 9. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Clinical Research Unit, Institut Claudius Regaud, IUCT- Oncopole, 1 avenue Joliot-Curie, Toulouse, 31059, France.

Background Plocabulin (PM060184) is a novel marine-derived microtubule inhibitor that acts as an antitumor agent. This first-in-human study evaluated dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) to define the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and phase II recommended dose (RD) of plocabulin given as a 10-min infusion on Day (D) 1, D8 and D15 every four weeks. Patients and methods Forty-four patients with advanced solid tumors received plocabulin following an accelerated titration design. Read More

Nat Commun 2018 11 8;9(1):4685. Epub 2018 Nov 8.

MRC Molecular Hematology Unit, MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK.

The ligand for the c-Kit receptor, KitL, exists as a membrane-associated (mKitL) and a soluble form (sKitL). KitL functions outside c-Kit activation have not been identified. We show that co-culture of c-Kit- and mKitL-expressing NIH3T3 cells results in signaling through mKitL: c-Kit-bound mKitL recruits calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand (CAML) to selectively activate Akt, leading to CREB phosphorylation, mTOR pathway activation, and increased cell proliferation. Read More

Pathol Oncol Res 2018 Nov 7. Epub 2018 Nov 7.

Department of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Debrecen, 1 Egyetem Square, Debrecen, 4010, Hungary.

Metastatic studies on rats showed that after subrenal implantation of tumor cells under the capsule of the kidney or subhepatic implantation under Glisson's capsule of the liver generated primary tumors in these organs. It was assumed that tumor cells that escaped through the disrupted peripheral blood vessels of primary tumors entered the peritoneal cavity, crossed the diaphragm, and appeared in the thoracal, primarily in the parathymic lymph nodes. This explanation did not answer the question whether distant lymph nodes were reached via the blood stream from the primary tumor or through the thoracal lymphatic vessels. Read More

Transl Lung Cancer Res 2018 Sep;7(Suppl 3):S258-S260

Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, S.Orsola Malpighi University Hospital, Bologna, Italy.

Int J Clin Oncol 2018 Oct 29. Epub 2018 Oct 29.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, 466-8550, Japan.

Background: For thymic epithelial tumors (TETs), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline has suggested that complete excision of the tumor should be performed without a preoperative biopsy when resectable. However, little evidence has been provided to support this strategy. The purpose of this study was to review our diagnostic process and to evaluate the validity of radical resection of anterior mediastinal masses (AMMs) without pathological confirmation. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2018 Sep;10(Suppl 26):S3121-S3123

Department of Thoracic Surgery, University of Rome Sapienza, Roma, Italy.

J Thorac Oncol 2018 Nov;13(11):1623-1624

Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC. Electronic address:

Cancer Treat Rev 2018 Dec 5;71:76-87. Epub 2018 Oct 5.

Department of Medical Oncology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Hospital, Rozzano (Milan), Italy.

Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are a heterogenous group of rare tumors, with a complex histopatological classification. Furthermore, the recent introduction of the first TNM staging system, that is scheduled to replace the Masaoka-Koga system, may create further difficulties in TET management, that remains challenging. Several guidelines for treatment of TETs are available and provide recommendations based mainly on non randomized trials and retrospective or limited series. Read More

Arch Pediatr 2018 Nov 22;25(8):489-492. Epub 2018 Oct 22.

Pediatrics Department, Hospital Prof. Doutor Fernando Fonseca E.P.E., IC 19, 2720-276 Amadora, Portugal.

A thymolipoma is a slow-growing, anterior mediastinal tumor, rare in childhood. The authors present a report of a 4-year-old girl with persistent right thoracic hypotransparency on the chest radiograph. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed an anterior, well-limited, mediastinal mass of heterogeneous density, with lipomatous and soft tissue density areas. Read More