Results of treatment for thymic neuroendocrine tumours: multicentre clinicopathological study†

Abstract

The prognosis of patients with TNET was favourable in those treated with macroscopic complete resection. Survival is promising even in patients with postoperative recurrence, following treatment utilized for pulmonary neuroendocrine tumour or gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumour.

Thymic Neuroendocrine Tumour Results Cushing’s Syndrome

“…TNET may present with symptoms due to mass effect including hoarseness, superior vena cava syndrome, phrenic nerve paralysis, chest pain, cough and shortness of breath or with endocrinopathy [3,4].…”

“…Surgery is the most important part of the treatment of thymic carcinoma, although chemotherapy and radiotherapy also have been reported to be effective in some cases (except for widely metastatic tumors) [3,4]. In the first year after surgery, patients should be monitored with serum and urinary free cortisol (UFC) testing as well as conventional imaging.…”

“…Some patients also develop acne, hirsutism and in some women, menstrual irregularity is noticeable. [2] Thymic neuroendocrine carcinomas are responsible for approximately 2-4% of all anterior mediastinal tumors [3][4][5]. Thymic neuroendocrine tumor (TNET) is rare with approximate incidence rate of 2-5%.…”

“…Among all thymic epithelial tumors, Neuroendocrine tumors (NET) originated from thymus account for only 0.4%. The most common histological type of TNET is atypical carcinoid tumor (ATC) [4].…”

“…Thymus neuroendocrine tumors which are associated with Cushing's syndrome can occur at any age between 4 to 64 years, but their peak incidence is between the second and the fourth decades of a patient's life [1,4] as frequently in men as in women [3,7,8].…”