Thymus

C37WHO Vol. 5

Thorax (Respiratory & Mediastinum)

Prognosis

This section is being prepared by our editorial process.

🔬 Histological Types

📚 Latest Research

2026-09-07

Long-term outcomes and patterns of failure in patients with thymic malignancies treated with surgery and radiation therapy.

Icht O, et al

A retrospective study of 360 patients with surgically treated thymic malignancies found that tumor invasiveness — especially vascular invasion (odds ratio 6.0; 95% CI 2.3–15.7) — was the strongest predictor of recurrence, and that peri-operative radiation therapy was associated with improved overall survival after statistical adjustment (hazard ratio 0.49; 95% CI 0.26–0.90; p = .02). Among the 175 patients (48.6%) who received peri-operative radiation, 62 (35.4%) experienced recurrence, with the pleura being the most common site (76%) and in-field recurrences being rare (5%), indicating effective local control but a persistent challenge of pleural relapse. Histologic subtype did not predict recurrence, suggesting that vascular invasion — rather than tumor type — should guide risk stratification decisions. The authors conclude that prospective trials are needed to confirm the survival benefit of peri-operative radiation and to develop better strategies against pleural failure.

Cancer

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2026-09-05

INTRATHYROIDAL ECTOPIC THYMUS: THE TRICK OF THE TRADE.

Cavarzere P, et al

A retrospective study from a tertiary pediatric endocrinology centre found that 10 out of 21 children with thyroid nodules classified as EU-TIRADS ≥3 — with a mean age of 6.19 ± 3.93 years and 50% males — were diagnosed with intrathyroidal ectopic thymus (IET), a rare benign entity whose sonographic appearance can mimic malignant thyroid nodules. All 10 IET lesions were hypoechoic, well-circumscribed, and demonstrated punctate or linear hyperechogenicities, with no significant change in size or echotexture during follow-up, and none of the patients required surgical intervention or fine-needle aspiration biopsy. The authors conclude that recognizing the characteristic imaging pattern of IET, combined with clinical and laboratory correlation, can prevent misdiagnosis of thyroid cancer in children — particularly in the first years of life — and spare patients from unnecessary invasive procedures.

Hormone research in paediatrics

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2026-09-04

Primary mediastinal ectopic thyroid in a 43-year-old woman: A diagnostic and surgical challenge - a case report and literature review.

Wang Z, et al

Surgeons successfully diagnosed and completely resected a rare primary mediastinal ectopic thyroid (PMET) — a benign soft-tissue mass measuring approximately 49 × 37 × 56 mm — in an asymptomatic 43-year-old woman, with preoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA) proving critical for safe surgical planning. The mass was discovered incidentally on routine chest CT and presented a major diagnostic challenge due to imaging overlap with malignant conditions including thymic epithelial tumors, lymphoma, Castleman disease, and paraganglioma. CTA-based vascular mapping identified abundant tortuous feeding vessels coursing over the tumor surface adjacent to the left innominate vein, guiding the team to perform median sternotomy with sequential vessel clipping and ultrasonic shear division for complete resection. At approximately 11 months post-surgery, follow-up chest CT confirmed no recurrence and thyroid function remained normal, establishing preoperative CTA as an essential tool when hypervascular anterior mediastinal masses without cervical thyroid continuity are encountered.

Medicine

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