The Role of Surgery in Recurrent Thymic Tumors

Mediastinal neoplasms include various malignancies arising from structures anatomically located in this area and from adjacent organs. Treatment options in mediastinal tumors are chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, or a combination of both. Although the role of surgery in the treatment of most mediastinal malignancies is well-established either alone or as part of a combined modality treatment, far less clear is the value of surgical resection for recurrent or chemorefractory mediastinal tumors. In particular, recurrent thymoma may take advantage from surgery that often allows complete resection and long-term survival.