Trimodality Therapy for an Advanced Thymic Carcinoma With Both Aorta and Vena Cava Invasion

A case of locally advanced thymic carcinoma that was successfully resected with the great vessels after chemoradiation therapy is reported. A 57-year-old man with Masaoka stage III thymic carcinoma received two cycles of cisplatin/docetaxel and 60 Gy irradiation. The response was stable disease with 19% size reduction, and a radical resection with the ascending aorta and superior vena cava with the patient under circulatory arrest with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass was performed. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient has been free of disease for 28 months. Trimodality therapy with use of a cardiovascular surgical procedure might be a valuable option in locally advanced thymic carcinoma.