NCI CANCERLIT^® Search: Malignant Thymoma - September 2001

Last Modified: November 1, 2001

Scleroderma in a child after chemotherapy for cancer.
Resection and perfusion thermochemotherapy: a new approach for the treatment of thymic malignancies with pleural spread.
Concomitant thymectomy and cardiac operation in a patient with pure red cell aplasia.
[Application of systemic enzyme therapy in combined treatment of patients with pulmonary cancer and malignant thymoma]

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1
UI - 21224429
AU - Emir S; Kutluk T; Topaloglu R; Bakkaloglu A; Buyukpamukcu M
TI - Scleroderma in a child after chemotherapy for cancer.
SO - Clin Exp Rheumatol 2001 Mar-Apr;19(2):221-3
AD - Department of Pediatric Oncology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
The association of malignancy with scleroderma is very rare in childhood. A 13-year-old girl was diagnosed as having thymic carcinoma and received systemic chemotherapy. She presented with symptoms of Raynaud's phenomenon 9 months after the cessation of chemotherapy. She also had difficulty in swallowing. Based on the presence of Raynaud's phenomenon, characteristic skin changes over the face and hands, oesophageal involvement and pulmonary restrictive defect demonstrated by pulmonary function tests, the diagnosis of generalised scleroderma was established. There was no evidence of tumor recurrence. Although she was treated with penicillamine and prednisolone, no significant improvement was achieved in her condition during the 14-month follow up.

2
UI - 21406689
AU - Refaely Y; Simansky DA; Paley M; Gottfried M; Yellin A
TI - Resection and perfusion thermochemotherapy: a new approach for the treatment of thymic malignancies with pleural spread.
SO - Ann Thorac Surg 2001 Aug;72(2):366-70
AD - Department of Thoracic Surgery, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
BACKGROUND: Thymoma and thymic carcinoma with pleural spread have a high rate of locoregional recurrence and poor prognosis. Maximal debulking coupled with aggressive local treatment could offer a chance for cure. This study evaluates the early and midterm results of operation and hyperthermic pleural perfusion with cisplatinum for thymic malignancies. METHODS: Fifteen patients (11 men), 20 to 67 years old (10 thymoma, 4 thymic carcinoma, 1 carcinoma in thymic cyst) underwent resection and hyperthermic pleural perfusion between 1995 to 2000. All had pleural spread proven before or intraoperatively. Six of the thymoma cases were recurrent. Current operation included resection without pleurectomy (9 patients), resection with pleurectomy (5), and extrapleural pneumonectomy (1 patient) with intraoperative hyperthermic pleural perfusion in all. Intrapleural temperature reached 40.3 degrees C to 43 degrees C. The total dose of cisplatinum was 150 mg or more in 14 patients. RESULTS: Complete resection (R0) was achieved in 10 patients, subtotal (R1) in 3, and partial (R2) in 2. There was no operative mortality, no hemodynamic or respiratory disturbances during perfusion, and no hematologic, neurologic, or renal complications. Complications consisted of significant bleeding (2 patients), fever (2), and air leak (1 patient). Two patients with thymic carcinoma died after 27 and 34 months, and 1 is alive with no evidence of disease at 54 months. Two patients with thymoma died after 7 and 36 months. Eight are alive after 9 to 70 months. Four patients (all R0) are alive without local recurrence more than 60 months after operation and hyperthermic pleural perfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Operation and thermochemotherpy is feasible and safe in patients with thymic tumors. This method seems to offer excellent local control for patients with stage IV-a thymic malignancies. Midterm results suggest that operation plus hyperthermic pleural perfusion may lengthen survival in stage IV-a thymoma.

3
UI - 21406739
AU - Poullis M; Punjabi P
TI - Concomitant thymectomy and cardiac operation in a patient with pure red cell aplasia.
SO - Ann Thorac Surg 2001 Aug;72(2):621-3
AD - Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, England. mpoullis@rpms.ac.uk
Pure red cell aplasia is a rare condition resulting in severe anemia. Medical therapy is indicated, unless a thymoma is present. In patients with concurrent cardiac pathology requiring operation, simultaneous operation should be contemplated to avoid risky resternotomy. We describe an exceptionally rare case of a patient with pure red cell aplasia secondary to a thymoma who underwent concomitant thymectomy and coronary artery grafting with a successful surgical outcome.

4
UI - 21183437
AU - Hanul VL; Smolanka II; Ponomar'ova OV
TI - [Application of systemic enzyme therapy in combined treatment of patients with pulmonary cancer and malignant thymoma]
SO - Klin Khir 2000 Jun;(6):17-9
The systemic enzymotherapy using Wobe-Mugos E in the combined treatment of 32 patients with pulmonary cancer and of 21 patients with malignant thymoma was applied. After the chemotherapy and radiotherapy conduction the reduction of the postoperative septic-purulent complications, the pneumofibrosis occurrence prophylaxis was noted.