Current immunotherapy for thymic epithelial tumors: a narrative review

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Immunology
• Thoracic Surgery

Background:

• Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare mediastinal neoplasms with varied presentations.
• Current management for advanced TET lacks clear systemic treatment guidelines due to disease complexity and limited models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore current management strategies for thymic epithelial tumors (TETs).
• To focus on the role of immunotherapy in treating advanced thymic epithelial tumors (TETs).

Main Methods:

• A literature search was conducted in PubMed for studies from 1981 to 2024.
• Keywords included
• Thymoma
• Thymic cancer
• Myasthenia gravis
• Radiation therapy
• Surgery
• Immunotherapy
• .

Main Results:

• The TNM staging system for TETs has been established.
• Complete surgical resection is standard for resectable TET.
• Anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti-PD-1) antibodies are being investigated for TET, showing acceptable efficacy in trials, but with reported severe immune-related adverse events (irAEs).

Conclusions:

• Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) offer potential therapeutic benefits for patients with TET.
• The benefit-toxicity ratio of ICI treatment must be carefully assessed in TET patients.