Eighteen patients operated on for thymoma from 1985 to 1994 were evaluated, 3 with myasthenia gravis and 15 without. Masaoka's clinical staging revealed stage I disease in 5 (27.8%), stage II in 6 (33.3%), stage III in 6 (33.3%), and stage IV in
l
(5.6%).
Of the 18 patients, 10 had surgical resection as the only treatment and the remaining 8 (stage II; 1 patient, stage III; 6 patients, stage IV; 1 patient) had surgical resection with adjuvant preoperative or postoperative radiotherapy and/or
chemotherapy. There was no operative mortality. Currently, 15 patients are alive, 3 are dead. The mean follow up time for all patients was 3.4 years. Acturial survival at 5 years was 82.2±9% for all patients: 100% for those in stage I and II,
and
62.5%
for those in stage III. Pleural and mediastinal recurrence developed in one patient in stage II which was considered to have noninvasive disease on the operating field. Two patients underwent reoperation for recurrence of thymoma at intervals of
14
months and 52 months.
Clinical stage and resectability had a significant prognostic value(p<0.05). The presence of myasthenia gravis is no longer considered as an adverse factor in survival.
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