No abstract

Surgical resection remains the treatment of choice for mSFTP. Relapse is common (approximately 30%). Incomplete resection and malignant pleural effusion at diagnosis impact LTS negatively.

Even following a thymectomy performed with radical intent, thymoma may recur several years later, usually as a locoregional relapse. A rewarding long-term survival may be expected after treatment, especially when a re-resection (radical) is performed (82.4% at 5 years). An histopathological "WHO upgrade" (from "low-risk" WHO classes at thymectomy to "high-risk classes" at relapse) may be observed in a remarkable percentage of patients (nearly 40% in this series), but this phenomenon seems to be not correlated with any worsening of the prognosis.

Surgical resection is recommended for the treatment of recurrent thymoma, provided that criteria for suitability for resection/operation are satisfactory at the time of diagnosis. Best survival outcomes are found to depend on the degree of completeness of the repeat resection.

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