Korean J Med.  2010 May;78(5):645-649.

A case of advanced thymic carcinoma that was resected after concurrent chemoradiotherapy

• Lim HW
• Lee MJ
• Park JH
• Park JH
• Lee SY
• Jun HJ
• Cho DY

Abstract

Thymic carcinoma is a rare, but aggressive, tumor that often metastasizes to regional lymph nodes and distant sites and often has a poor prognosis. Although the efficacy of induction therapy in thymic carcinoma is unclear, we report the clinical course of a patient who underwent complete surgical resection after effective induction chemoradiotherapy. A 66-year-old man was diagnosed with a poorly differentiated thymic carcinoma (Masaoka stage III). The tumor was considered unresectable due to sternal invasion and surrounding fat infiltration. Two cycles of chemotherapy, consisting of paclitaxel (180 mg/m2 on D1) and cisplatin (80 mg/m2 on D1) combined with mediastinal radiotherapy (total 50 Gy) were performed concurrently; the mass decreased to a resectable size. Subsequently, he received adjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant radiation therapy. He is currently alive and ambulatory and has remained disease-free for 19 months. This case demonstrates that induction chemoradiotherapy with paclitaxel and cisplatin may be tolerated and useful for patients with locally advanced thymic carcinoma.

Keyword

Thymic carcinoma; Paclitaxel; Cisplatin; Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy; Surgery

MeSH Terms

Aged
Chemoradiotherapy
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
Cisplatin
Humans
Lymph Nodes
Paclitaxel
Prognosis
Thymoma
Cisplatin
Paclitaxel