Chemotherapy and targeted agents for thymic malignancies

Abstract

Thymic malignancies are rare epithelial tumors that may be aggressive and difficult to treat. Thymomas are usually localized to the anterior mediastinum and are frequently eligible for upfront surgical resection. However, nearly 30% of patients present with locally advanced tumors at time of diagnosis, and chemotherapy is then used to reduce the tumor burden, possibly allowing subsequent surgery and/or radiotherapy. Metastatic and recurrent thymic malignancies may similarly be treated with chemotherapy. More recently, the molecular characterization of thymoma and thymic carcinoma led to the identification of potentially druggable targets, laying the foundations to implement personalized medicine for patients.