Prognostic factors and role of postoperative radiotherapy in surgically resected thymomas

Fujun Yang; Jie Dai; Xiaoying Lou; Bin Zhou; Kaiqi Jin; Qiuyuan Li; Nan Song; Deping Zhao; Yuming Zhu; Haifeng Wang; Gening Jiang

doi:10.1016/j.xjon.2023.02.013

Prognostic factors and role of postoperative radiotherapy in surgically resected thymomas

JTCVS Open. 2023 Mar 3:14:561-580. doi: 10.1016/j.xjon.2023.02.013. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Fujun Yang¹, Jie Dai¹, Xiaoying Lou², Bin Zhou¹, Kaiqi Jin¹, Qiuyuan Li¹, Nan Song¹, Deping Zhao¹, Yuming Zhu¹, Haifeng Wang¹, Gening Jiang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University, School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the prognostic factors in and role of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for surgically resected thymomas.

Methods: A total of 1540 patients with pathologically confirmed thymomas undergoing resection between 2000 and 2018 were identified retrospectively from the SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database. Tumors were restaged as local (limited to thymus), regional (invasion to mediastinal fat and other neighboring structures), or distant stage. Disease-specific survival (DSS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% CIs were calculated by Cox proportional hazards modeling.

Results: Tumor stage and histology were independent predictors of both DSS (regional: HR, 3.711; 95% CI, 2.006-6.864; distant: HR, 7.920; 95% CI, 4.061-15.446; type B2/B3: HR, 1.435; 95% CI, 1.008-2.044) and OS (regional: HR, 1.461; 95% CI, 1.139-1.875; distant: HR, 2.551; 95% CI, 1.855-3.509; type B2/B3: HR, 1.409; 95% CI, 1.153-1.723). For patients with regional stage and type B2/B3 thymomas, PORT was associated with better DSS after thymectomy/thymomectomy (HR, 0.268; 95% CI, 0.099-0.727), but the association was not significant after extended thymectomy (HR, 1.514; 95% CI, 0.516-4.44). Among patients with lymph node metastases, those who received PORT (HR, 0.372; 95% CI, 0.146-0.949), chemotherapy (HR, 0.843; 95% CI, 0.303-2.346), or both (HR, 0.296, 95% CI, 0.071-1.236) had a better OS.

Conclusions: The extent of invasion and tumor histology were independent predictors of worse survival following surgical resection of thymoma. Patients with regional invasion and type B2/B3 thymoma who undergo thymectomy/thymomectomy may benefit from PORT, while patients with nodal metastases may benefit from multimodal therapy, including PORT and chemotherapy.

Keywords: SEER; histology; postoperative radiotherapy; prognosis; thymoma.