Extended thymectomy with blood vessel resection and reconstruction improves therapeutic outcome for clinical stage III thymic carcinoma patients: a real-world research

Abstract Objectives We examine the therapeutic efficacy of extended thymectomy with blood vessel resection and reconstruction in thymic carcinoma patients with great vessel invasion. Methods In total 26 patients diagnosed as clinical stage III thymic carcinoma with severe great vessel invasion were enrolled in this retrospective study. Among these patients, 14 cases received adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy (non-operation subgroup, NOG), the other 12 patients received extended thymectomy with vessel resection and reconstruction followed by the adjuvant treatment (operation subgroup, OG). Results All surgical procedures went smoothly with no perioperative death. R0 resection was obtained in all surgical cases, and we also observed a lymph node metastasis rate of 38.8%. The overall survival (OS) was 34 months for the whole cohort, 48 and 26 months for the OG and NOG respectively (p = 0.013). The median disease metastasis free survival (DMFS) was 47 months for the OG and 18 months for the NOG (p = 0.019). Conclusion Extended thymectomy with vessel resection is feasible for patients with clinical stage III thymic carcinoma. Surgery significantly improves the overall survival and the prognosis of clinical stage III thymic carcinoma.