Thymic tumors: Experience of the National Cancer Institute of Colombia

Objectives: Thymic tumors have an overall incidence of 0.13 per 100,000 inhabitants, but they represent a significant percentage of mediastinal tumors. There is little literature based on our population, we make a contribution of our experience in the National Cancer Institute. Methods: We did a case series study, reviewing the clinical histories of patients with thymic tumors treated at the National Cancer Institute from 2006 to 2017. Results: From 2006 to 2017, 31 patients with thymic tumors such as thymoma, thymic hyperplasia, thymic cysts and thymic carcinomas were found, mainly in the female gender and with a median of 62 years of age. 2 patients presented Myasthenia Gravis (MG). 27 patients underwent thymectomy through sternotomy, video-thoracoscopy, thoracostomy among others, obtaining an overall survival greater than 90% at 5 years of follow-up. The stages of Masaoka I, II and III have a better prognosis than type IV regardless of the histological type. Conclusions: Thymectomy is the first-line treatment in resectable cases, even when there is a compromise of nearby structures that allow a complete surgical resection. Our results describe behaviors and results similar to those found in the world literature.