Management of thymic tumors: a European perspective

Thymic tumors are rare mediastinal tumors, which are considered as orphan diseases due to their low prevalence. The most recent histologic classification divides thymic tumors into thymomas, thymic carcinomas (TC) and neuroendocrine thymic tumors (NETT). Until recently, clinical research on thymic tumors has been primarily represented by single-institution experiences usually scattered over a long time period in order to accumulate a sufficient number of patients for clinical analysis. Europe has played a pivotal role in the advancement of the clinical research on thymus in the past years. In the last decade, there has been an increased interest in thymic malignancies in the scientific community. The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS), the most representative society of general thoracic surgeons in the world, established a dedicated thymic working group in 2010 with the intent to provide a platform among ESTS members with a specific interest in thymic malignancies. The present review is intended to provide, through the description of the activity of the ESTS thymic working group and its published results, an overview of the European contribution to the thymic research. A brief overview of the state-of-the-art of clinical presentation, diagnosis, staging and histologic classification of thymic tumors is also provided, along with the most recent therapeutic advancements.