[Treatment of epithelial tumors of the thymus gland]

Epithelial thymomas are a rare type of malignant tumors. The treatment is based on surgical excision especially in non invasive tumors where no other treatment is recommended. In totally or partially unresectable tumors, surgery remains of major importance in tumor debulking, staging, and histological typing. Improvement of radiotherapy techniques allow to optimise the combination of radiation therapy with surgery and/or chemotherapy and to decrease the pulmonary and cardiac secondary effects. The effectiveness of chemotherapy has long been reported case to case. Recently published prospective studies have confirmed the efficacy of anthracyclines and cisplatinum combination regimen and demonstrated the need for further trials using neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Such studies on a rare and slowly growing tumor have to be proposed in a prospective, multicentric and controlled manner.