Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40400973›Full record

ArticleJournal of thoracic disease2025

The role of postoperative radiotherapy for invasive thymic epithelial tumors: a single-center experience.

Peng Zhang, Yongjia Chai, Peng Zhang

Abstract read
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Article in Journal of thoracic disease, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Peng Zhang *Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Tianjin First Center Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Yongjia Chai *Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery Department, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
Peng ZhangCardiovascular Thoracic Surgery Department, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Surgery is the primary treatment modality for thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). However, the efficacy of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in the management of thymoma remains a topic of debate. This study aimed to evaluate the role of PORT in improving clinical outcomes for patients with thymoma. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from patients who underwent surgery for TETs at the Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery Department, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital from October 2001 to July 2021. Patients classified as Masaoka-Koga stage II to IVA were included in the study. The impact of PORT on relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Results: A total of 211 thymoma patients were included in this study, among whom 141 cases (66.8%) underwent PORT. Overall, PORT was not associated with a significant improvement in OS or RFS in the entire cohort. However, in patients with locally advanced disease, PORT for Masaoka-Koga stage III-IVA thymoma was significantly associated with improved OS (P=0.01), although it did not result in a significant improvement in RFS (P=0.12). Subgroup analyses revealed that PORT significantly improved OS (P=0.042) in patients with Masaoka-Koga stage III thymoma. Furthermore, among patients with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage III thymoma [according to the Union for the International Cancer Control (UICC) TNM Classification, 8th Edition], the PORT group exhibited significantly better RFS (P=0.03) and OS (P=0.01). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that TNM stage was the only statistically significant factor influencing OS in univariate analysis among patients with aggressive thymoma [TNM stage I-II Conclusions: PORT plays a significant role in the management of thymoma patients. For patients with Masaoka-Koga stage II thymoma, the potential benefits of PORT require further investigation. In patients with Masaoka-Koga stage III-IVA thymoma, PORT is associated with improved OS but does not appear to prevent disease recurrence. Additionally, among TNM stage III patients, the PORT group demonstrated significantly better RFS and OS. TNM stage is a potentially independent prognostic factor for survival in patients with aggressive thymoma, while PORT represents a critical prognostic factor for survival in patients with TNM stage III thymoma.

Indexed as

Postoperative radiotherapy (PORT)thymomatumor-node-metastasis stage (TNM stage)

Identifiers

PMID40400973
PMCPMC12090111

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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.