Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 6, 2025
05:39
Spontaneous Murine Model of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
Published on: February 3, 2023
1.9K
Calcification in thymomas can predict invasiveness to surrounding organs
Mitsuteru Yoshida1, Kazuya Kondo1, Naoki Miyamoto1
1Department of Thoracic, Endocrine Surgery and Oncology, Institute of Health Bioscience, University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan.
Thoracic Cancer
|May 6, 2021
Summary
Calcification in thymomas, detected via CT scans, indicates a higher risk of invasiveness and advanced stages. This finding aids in predicting thymoma aggressiveness and planning treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Radiology
- Pathology
Background:
- Thymomas are the most common anterior mediastinal tumors.
- Calcification is sometimes observed in thymomas on computed tomography (CT) scans.
- The clinical significance of calcification in thymomas is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the significance of calcification in thymomas regarding invasiveness to surrounding organs.
- To investigate the characteristics of thymoma cases with calcification.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 51 thymoma patients treated between 2000 and 2016.
- Patients were categorized into calcification (C) and noncalcification (NC) groups based on CT findings.
- Evaluation of demographics, histology, Masaoka stage, and myasthenia gravis status.
Main Results:
- Calcification was present in 11 (21.6%) patients.
- The calcification group (C) showed a higher proportion of high-risk World Health Organization histological types (B2, B3) and advanced Masaoka stages (III, IV).
- The C group exhibited significantly higher rates of invasion into surrounding mediastinal structures and pleural dissemination.
Conclusions:
- Calcification in thymomas is associated with increased invasiveness and higher-risk histology.
- CT-detected calcification may predict thymoma stage and aggressiveness.
- Calcification status can inform therapeutic decisions and surgical planning for thymoma treatment.
Related Concept Videos
02:30Metastasis
6.0K
Metastasis is the spread of cancer cells from the original site to distant locations in the body. Cancer cells can spread via blood vessels (hematogenous) as well as lymph vessels in the body.
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT is a developmental process commonly observed in wound healing, embryogenesis, and cancer metastasis. EMT is induced by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) or receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ligands, which further...
6.0K
02:07Tumor Progression
6.8K
Tumor progression is a phenomenon where the pre-formed tumor acquires successive mutations to become clinically more aggressive and malignant. In the 1950s, Foulds first described the stepwise progression of cancer cells through successive stages.
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
Colon cancer is one of the best-documented examples of tumor progression. Early mutation in the APC gene in colon cells causes a small growth on the colon wall called a polyp. With time, this polyp grows into a benign, pre-cancerous tumor. Further...
6.8K