[Clinical course following thymoma extirpation]

The authors report on 48 thymomas operated on between 1968 and 1985. The survival curve of the 37 (77.1%) totally resected patients showed a marked decrease during the first year postoperatively to 85.8%. The 5-year-survival-rate was 78.5%. Predominantly epithelial thymomas had a significantly worse prognosis than those with lymphocytic predominance. Associated myasthenia gravis (21 of the totally resected patients) as well as invasion beyond the capsule proved to be of negative prognostic significance. Even in cases of gross invasion into neighbouring organs a curative resection was followed by a markedly better prognosis than a mere biopsy or partial resection plus radiotherapy.