Primary malignant mediastinal tumors

Thirty-eight patients with primary malignant mediastinal tumors of all cell types are the basis for this review. Eleven of these patients had germ cell tumors. Five germ cell tumors were seminomas, two were malignant teratomas, and two were endodermal sinus tumors. Mean survival for all patients with germ cell tumors was 3.3 years. Eight children had surgical excision of mediastinal neuroblastomas, and all but 1 are alive for a mean survival of 6.7 years. Seven patients had lymphoproliferative disorders; 6 of these patients had nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease, and 1 had lymphoblastic (thymic) lymphoma. Mean survival was 5.1 years. There were five carcinomas of various cell types and one angiopericytoma. None of the patients with these lesions survived more than 2 years. Four patients had thymoma with an average survival of 3.7 years. Two patients had carcinoid tumors of thymic origin; neither survived more than 1 year. In 1972, we reported 5-year disease-free survival of 26% in a series of patients with primary mediastinal tumors. Our experience since 1970 shows current survival of 47.3% and 5-year disease-free survival of 34.2%. We use combined methods of therapy, including aggressive surgical resection, combination chemotherapy, and often mediastinal irradiation for most types of mediastinal tumors. Primary mediastinal malignancies should be treated aggressively using a multidisciplinary approach, since many of these tumors are curable.