Chemotherapy of invasive thymoma

Despite conventional therapy, including surgery and radiation, 5-year survival for invasive thymoma remains poor. Chemotherapeutic agents, including cisdiamminedichloroplatinum, prednisone, adriamycin and nitrogen mustard-vincristine-vinblastine-procarbazine, and bleomycin-adriamycin-CCNU-vincristine have produced short-term remissions. In view of the small number of cases seen in any one institution, a cooperative study to evaluate chemotherapeutic efficacy in malignant thymoma would seem worthwhile.