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Am J Clin Pathol 2021 May 12. Epub 2021 May 12.

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Rochester, MN, USA.

Objectives: To evaluate SATB2 expression and prognostic implications in a large cohort of thoracic neuroendocrine tumors.

Methods: Surgical pathology files (1995-2017) and an institutional thymic epithelial tumor database (2010-2020) were searched for resected neuroendocrine tumors. Cases were stained with SATB2 (clone EP281). Read More

Gan To Kagaku Ryoho 2021 Apr;48(4):493-498

Division of Medical Oncology, Dept. of Internal Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine.

As a treatment strategy for various carcinoma, immune checkpoint inhibitors(ICIs)can prolong overall survival with ICI monotherapy, ICIs combination therapy, or chemotherapy and ICI combination therapy. It has been validated in clinical trials and is recognized as a key drug in the treatment of cancer. In two large phase Ⅲ trials(IMpower133 and CASPIAN), the strategy of anti PD‒L1 antibody, such as atezolizumab and durvalumab, with chemotherapy was prolonged overall survival compared with the chemotherapy alone in extensive stage small cell lung cancer. Read More

Respir Investig 2021 May 8. Epub 2021 May 8.

Department of Comprehensive Cancer Therapy, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan.

Thymic epithelial tumor is a rare, potentially progressive disease that commonly infiltrates mediastinal structures. In rare cases, it may cause superior vena cava syndrome. Pretreatment histopathological diagnosis is essential to determine the most effective treatment strategy. Read More

World J Surg Oncol 2021 May 11;19(1):147. Epub 2021 May 11.

Department of Radiology, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, 06100, Sıhhiye, Ankara, Turkey.

Introduction: Radiomics methods are used to analyze various medical images, including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance, and positron emission tomography to provide information regarding the diagnosis, patient outcome, tumor phenotype, and the gene-protein signatures of various diseases. In low-risk group, complete surgical resection is typically sufficient, whereas in high-risk thymoma, adjuvant therapy is usually required. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between both. Read More

Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann 2021 May 11:2184923211017094. Epub 2021 May 11.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Nuvance Health System, Connecticut & New York, USA.

Background: The aim of this study is to identify patients with thymoma who should receive post-operative radiotherapy.

Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was queried for stage IIB-IV thymoma patients diagnosed during 1988-2015. We analyzed the prognostic implications of various clinical-pathological factors by comparing the outcomes of those who received surgery with and without post-operative radiotherapy. Read More

Gland Surg 2021 Apr;10(4):1410-1417

Medical Oncology Session No.1, Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China.

Background: Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are a heterogeneous group of rare malignancies which may be devastating, difficult to treat, and for which treatment options are limited. Herein, we investigated the comprehensive genomic alterations of TETs in a Chinese population for providing clinical management, especially targeted therapy.

Methods: Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) was performed with DNA targeted sequencing of cancer-associated genes (CSYS) from a cohort of 40 Chinese TET patients. Read More

Oncol Lett 2021 Jun 21;21(6):483. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Thoracic, Endocrine Surgery and Oncology, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima University, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan.

Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) comprise thymomas and thymic carcinoma (TC). TC has more aggressive features and a poorer prognosis than thymomas. Genetic and epigenetic alterations in thymomas and TC have been investigated in an attempt to identify novel target molecules for TC. Read More

Am J Med Sci 2021 May 4. Epub 2021 May 4.

2(nd) Academic Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Hippokration General Hospital, Athens, Greece. Electronic address:

Thymic neoplasms are rare and may run an indolent course. Among them, thymic epithelial carcinoma is exceptional as it may be presented with extensive local invasion and distant metastases. There is a wide spectrum of autoimmune/paraneoplastic syndromes associated with thymic tumors including autoimmune diseases, some of which may precede the diagnosis of thymoma. Read More

World J Clin Oncol 2021 Apr;12(4):195-216

Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Universitario Quirónsalud Madrid, Hospital La Luz, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Madrid 28223, Spain.

Thymic epithelial tumours (TET) are rare, heterogeneous neoplasms that range from resectable indolent tumours to aggressive thymic carcinomas with a strong tendency to metastasize. The pathological diagnosis is complex, in part due to the existence of several different classification systems. The evidence base for the management of TETs is scant and mainly based on non-randomised studies and retrospective series. Read More

Anticancer Res 2021 May;41(5):2467-2471

Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, U.S.A.;

Background/aim: Adaptive radiation therapy (ART) is a technique capable of reducing radiation dose to normal tissue without compromising local control. For potentially resectable thymoma, induction therapy is standard of care. Because large disease volume is common in this context, ART has been suggested to reduce toxicity from induction chemoradiation. Read More

Front Immunol 2021 15;12:621858. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Department of Radiation Oncology, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy has become a promising option for the treatment of late-stage thymic epithelial tumors. In this manuscript, we presented a patient with metastatic thymoma administrated of anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody pembrolizumab. Although the patient underwent a rapid and dramatic response to one dose of pembrolizumab, she suffered a storm of immune-therapy related toxicity events (irAEs), including liver and kidney dysfunction, hypothyroidism and myocarditis. Read More

Zhong Nan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban 2021 Mar;46(3):328-332

Department of Respiratory Diseases, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011, China.

A patient with thymoma associated immunodeficiency syndrome (Good's syndrome) and bronchiectasis was retrospectively analyzed. Good's syndrome is a rare condition of immunodeficiency that is characterized by thymoma and hypogammaglobulinemia. It is important to bear in mind that Good's syndrome should be included in the differential diagnosis When patients repeatedly visited for bronchiectasis or infection, we should alert to their immune state and history of thymoma. Read More

Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021 Apr 1;14(4). Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, Policlinico di Sant'Orsola University Hospital, Via P. Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy.

Thymic tumors are a group of rare mediastinal malignancies that include three different histological subtypes with completely different clinical behavior: the thymic carcinomas, the thymomas, and the rarest thymic neuroendocrine tumors. Nowadays, few therapeutic options are available for relapsed and refractory thymic tumors after a first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. In the last years, the deepening of knowledge on thymus' biological characterization has opened possibilities for new treatment options. Read More

Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2021 Apr 27. Epub 2021 Apr 27.

Division of Thoracic Surgery, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.

Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, occasionally accompanied by malignant tumors. Immunosuppressive therapy is the mainstay treatment for idiopathic NMOSD; no guidelines have been published for paraneoplastic NMOSD because it is rarely reported in the literature. We report a rare case of a 67-year-old man with paraneoplastic NMOSD associated with thymic carcinoid whose cells expressed aquaporin-4 antibody. Read More

Semin Cancer Biol 2021 Apr 24. Epub 2021 Apr 24.

ENETS Neuroendocrine Tumor Centre of Excellence, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark; Department of Medical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark; Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Copenhagen University, Denmark. Electronic address:

Neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are relatively rare neoplasms with 6.4-times increasing age-adjusted annual incidence during the last four decades. NENs arise from neuroendocrine cells, which release hormones in response to neuronal stimuli and they are distributed into organs and tissues. Read More

Zhonghua Zhong Liu Za Zhi 2021 Apr;43(4):395-404

Thymic tumor is a relatively rare type of thoracic cancer, which is pathologically-classified as thymic epithelial tumors by World Health Organization (WHO), including thymoma and thymic carcinoma. The incidence of thymic epithelial tumors in China is about 4.09 per million, which is slightly higher than that in European and American countries. Read More

Pathol Int 2021 Apr 26. Epub 2021 Apr 26.

Department of Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Aichi, Japan.

Cancer testis antigens (CTAs) are detected in cancer cells but not in healthy normal tissues, with the exception of gametogenic tissues. However, to our knowledge, expression of the antigens in thymic epithelial tumors has not been examined yet. We examined the immunohistochemical expression of five CTAs (MAGE-A, NY-ESO-1, MAGE-C1, SAGE and GAGE7) in 192 cases of thymic epithelial tumor. Read More

Pediatr Blood Cancer 2021 Apr 21:e29042. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Pediatric Surgery, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, Université de Paris, Paris, France.

Thymic tumors are epithelial tumors arising from the anterior mediastinum and constitute 0.2-1.5% of all adult malignancies but are exceptional in pediatric population. Read More

Beijing Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban 2021 Mar;53(2):327-331

Department of Gynecology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China.

Objective: To investigate the possibility and feasibility of one-stage cardiac and non-cardiac surgery.

Methods: From July 1999 to August 2018, one hundred and eleven patients suffering from cardiac and non-cardiac diseases were treated by one-stage cardiac and non-cardiac operation in Department of Cardiac Surgery and Thoracic Surgery, General Surgery, Urinary Surgery, and Gynecology, Peking University First Hospital. There were 83 males (74. Read More

iScience 2021 Apr 13;24(4):102307. Epub 2021 Mar 13.

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells recognize microbial riboflavin metabolites presented by MR1 and play role in immune responses to microbial infections and tumors. We report here that absence of the transcription factor (TF) Bcl11b in mice alters predominantly MAIT17 cells in the thymus and further in the lung, both at steady state and following infection. Transcriptomics and ChIP-seq analyses show direct control of TCR signaling program and position BCL11B upstream of essential TFs of MAIT17 program, including RORγt, ZBTB16 (PLZF), and MAF. Read More

Cancer Genet 2021 Apr 5;256-257:31-35. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Oncogenetics Unit, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel. Electronic address:

Germline mutations in the BRCA1-associated protein (BAP1) gene (MIM # 603089) are associated with a substantially increased risk for developing melanoma, mesothelioma, and renal cell carcinoma. Somatic inactivation of the BAP1 gene was noted in these and other tumors types, including esophageal cancer and cholangiocarcinoma. The favorable response of BRCA1/2-associated tumors to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor therapy, raises the possibility that tumors harboring BAP1 mutations may exhibit similar sensitivity to PARP inhibitor therapy. Read More

Hum Gene Ther 2021 Apr 15. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Sichuan University West China Hospital, 34753, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, Institute of Drug Clinical Trial, Chengdu, Sichuan, China;

In our previous studies, a novel gene therapy approach was developed based on a plasmid vector pSecTag2B in which recombinant HNP1 gene was regulated under a cytomegalovirus promoter to encode a mature HNP1 form. We showed for the first time in various tumor models including human cancer xenografts that overexpression of HNP1 in the tumor milieu by intratumoral pSecTag-HNP1 (pHNP1) administration efficiently attenuated in vivo tumor progression, mediated host immune responses to tumors, and produced a synergistic effect when combined with chemotherapeutics. In current study, a preclinical safety investigation of HNP1 gene therapy was conducted in non-human primates. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 Apr;100(15):e25331

Department of Medical Oncology, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, PR China.

Background: Thymic carcinoma represents a rare type of malignant mediastinal tumor and has been the subject of controversy. Although independent prognostic factors related to thymic carcinoma have been investigated previously, few studies have focused specifically on the survival outcomes associated with thymic squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC). This study aims at presenting a survival analysis in this rare malignant disease at population level. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2021 Apr;100(15):e25254

Department of Pathology, the First Hospital and College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang.

Rationale: Thymic adenocarcinoma is an extremely rare thymic carcinoma. The exact genetic alteration associated with thymic adenocarcinoma is unclear. Here, we report a case of thymic adenocarcinoma accompanied by type A thymoma and pulmonary minimally invasive adenocarcinoma (MIA). Read More

Ann Thorac Surg 2021 Apr 9. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

Background: To explore the performance of a computed tomography based radiomics model in the preoperative prediction of resectability status and TNM staging in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs).

Methods: We reviewed the last preoperative computed tomography scan of patients with TETs prior to resection and pathology evaluation at our institution between February 2008 and June 2019. 101 quantitative features were extracted and a radiomics model was trained using elastic net penalized logistic regressions for each aim. Read More

Arch Endocrinol Metab 2021 Apr 12. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Unidade de Medicina Interna e Serviço de Endocrinologia, Faculdade de Medicina e Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil,

Cyclic Cushing's syndrome (CS) due to thymic carcinoid is a rare disorder. We report a case of cyclic CS due to ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting atypical thymic carcinoid tumor and reviewed similar cases published in the literature. Our patient had hypercortisolemia lasting approximately one month, followed by normal cortisol secretion, with relapse one year later. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 25;11:631649. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China.

Objectives: To investigate the utility of spectral computed tomography (CT) parameters for the prediction of the preoperative Masaoka-Koga stage of thymic epithelial tumors (TETs).

Materials And Methods: Fifty-four patients with TETs, aged from 37 to 73 years old, an average age of 55.56 ± 9. Read More

Kyobu Geka 2021 Mar;74(3):241-243

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Jichi Medical Univergity Saitama Medical Center, Saitama, Japan.

Metaplastic thymoma is a rare histologic variant of thymic epithelial tumors and is characterized by a biphasic growth pattern. We herein report the case of 44-year-old woman who underwent surgery for metaplastic thymoma. Computed tomography scan revealed a well-circumscribed mediastinal tumor: 56 mm in diameter with homogenous enhancement. Read More

J Vet Med Sci 2021 Apr 5. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Department of Veterinary Pathology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Rakuno Gakuen University.

Mediastinal masses in dogs were diagnosed as basaloid carcinoma associated with multiple thymic cysts (MTCs). The masses were composed of MTCs and proliferating intracystic neoplastic basaloid cells, which immunohistochemically diffusely expressed p63 and cytokeratin 19. A gradual transition from the basal cell layers lining the cysts walls to the neoplastic cells was seen, and it was indicated that the neoplastic cells had originated from the basal cell layers of the cysts. Read More

Wiad Lek 2021 ;74(3 cz 1):475-480

V. N. KARAZIN KHARKIV NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, KHARKIV, UKRAINE.

Objective: The aim: To evaluate the relationship of certain alleles of HLA class II leukocyte antigens and the profile of antibodies to various subunits of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR), the level of Treg lymphocytes and the serum concentration of anti-inflammatory IL-10 for various clinical myasthenia gravis phenotypes.

Patients And Methods: Materials and methods: We examined 217 patients with thymus-independent myasthenia (n = 42) and thymus-dependent myasthenia, among them patients with thymus hyperplasia (n = 108) and thymoma (n = 67). We used the following methods: ELISA, flow cytometry, light and fluorescence microscopy. Read More