HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Masaoka, A. Articles by Fujii, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Masaoka, A. Articles by Fujii, Y.

European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Vol 8, 251-253, Copyright © 1994 by European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery

ARTICLES

Thymectomy and malignancy

A Masaoka, Y Yamakawa, H Niwa, I Fukai, Y Saito, S Tokudome, K Nakahara and Y Fujii
Second Department of Surgery, Nagoya City University Medical School, Japan.

Three hundred ninety patients who underwent thymectomy for myasthenia gravis (MG) were followed up to investigate the development of associated malignancies. There were 102 patients with thymoma and 288 without thymoma. Malignant neoplasms were detected in ten patients, four of whom already had the tumor at the time MG was diagnosed. Thus, malignancy developed after thymectomy in six patients. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) developed in three patients, as well as gastric cancer, gastric leiomyosarcoma, rectal cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and thymic carcinoid in one patient each. Nine of the ten malignancies developed in the thymoma group, and only one in the non-thymoma group. The predicted number of patients with malignancy was 2.63 in the thymoma group and 2.65 in the non-thymoma group. Our findings suggest that the presence of thymoma facilitates the occurrence of extrathymic malignancy, and that thymectomy never enhances the occurrence of malignancy but possibly inhibits it.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. L. Baran, C. M. Magro, M. A. King, T. E. Williams Jr, and P. Ross Jr Atypical thymoma: A report of seven patients Ann. Thorac. Surg., August 1, 2004; 78(2): 411 - 416. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				F. C. Detterbeck and A. M. Parsons Thymic tumors Ann. Thorac. Surg., May 1, 2004; 77(5): 1860 - 1869. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Singhal, J. B. Shrager, D. I. Rosenthal, V. A. LiVolsi, and L. R. Kaiser Comparison of stages I-II thymoma treated by complete resection with or without adjuvant radiation Ann. Thorac. Surg., November 1, 2003; 76(5): 1635 - 1642. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. S. Welsh, S. A. Thurman, and S. P. Howard Thymoma and Multiple Malignancies: A Case of Five Synchronous Neoplasms and Literature Review Clin. Med. Res., July 1, 2003; 1(3): 227 - 232. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. S. Welsh, K. B. Wilkins, R. Green, G. Bulkley, F. Askin, M. Diener-West, and S. P. Howard Association Between Thymoma and Second Neoplasms JAMA, March 1, 2000; 283(9): 1142 - 1143. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. E. SEYBOLD Thymectomy in Childhood Myasthenia Gravis Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., May 13, 1998; 841(1): 731 - 741. [Full Text]

				A. EVOLI, A. P. BATOCCHI, P. TONALI, and M. MARCIANO Risk of Cancer in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., May 13, 1998; 841(1): 742 - 745. [Full Text]

				A. Masaoka, Y. Yamakawa, H. Niwa, I. Fukai, S. Kondo, M. Kobayashi, Y. Fujii, and Y. Monden Extended Thymectomy for Myasthenia Gravis Patients: A 20-Year Review Ann. Thorac. Surg., September 1, 1996; 62(3): 853 - 859. [Abstract] [Full Text]