Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37053227›Full record

ArticlePloS one2023

Evaluation of the role of postoperative radiotherapy in locally invasive thymoma: A propensity-matched study based on the SEER database.

Li-Mei Lin, Yi-Min Li, Yun-Xia Huang, Zong-Kai Zhang, Ya-Qing Dai, Jun Liu, Qin Lin

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Thymic tumors: radiotherapy experience for single institute.Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al] · 2025
    Article
  4. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Li-Mei LinDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Xiamen Cancer Center, Xiamen Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Yi-Min LiDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Xiamen Cancer Center, Xiamen Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Yun-Xia HuangDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Xiamen Cancer Center, Xiamen Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Zong-Kai ZhangDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Xiamen Cancer Center, Xiamen Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Ya-Qing DaiDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Xiamen Cancer Center, Xiamen Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
Jun LiuDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Xiamen Cancer Center, Xiamen Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3593-0534
Qin LinDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Xiamen Cancer Center, Xiamen Key Laboratory of Radiation Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China.ORCID 0000-0002-4391-8706
First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesNo consensus was reached on the efficacy of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in locally invasive thymomas because of the rarity of the thymic epithelial and the variations of study results. Therefore, we aimed to explore the efficacy of PORT in locally invasive thymomas using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database.

methodsPatients diagnosed with thymomas from 2004 to 2016 were identified using the SEER database. Prognostic factors of cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) were identified using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses.Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the baseline characteristics.

resultsA total of 700 eligible patients were identified. After PSM, 262 paired patients were selected from the two groups, those who received or did not receive PORT. Receiving PORT improved CSS and OS before and after PSM. In the matched population, the multivariate analyses showed that tumour invasion into adjacent organs/structures and non-utilisation of PORT were independent poor prognostic factors for CSS, whereas age ≥62 years,tumour invasion into adjacent organs/structures, and non-utilisation of PORT were independently associated with poorer OS. The subgroup analysis revealed that PORT improved CSS and OS in Masaoka-Koga stage III thymoma, but showed no OS benefit in Masaoka-Koga stage IIB thymoma.

conclusionBased on the SEER database, we found that PORT provides a significant survival benefit in Masaoka-Koga stage III thymoma with complete or incomplete resection. The role of PORT in thymoma requires further evaluation.

Indexed as

ThymomaThymus NeoplasmsDatabases, FactualHumansMiddle AgedNeoplasm StagingPrognosisPropensity ScoreSEER Program

Identifiers

PMID37053227
PMCPMC10101529
OpenAlexW4365443157

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.