[Preoperative radiotherapy for lymphoepithelial thymomas]

Nineteen lympho-epithelial thymomas initially considered to be unresectable were treated by irradiation. Secondary resection was complete in 10 cases and incomplete in 98 cases. Total resection is still the best treatment for lympho-epithelial thymoma. Adjuvant therapy improves its results when resection is not complete. When resection appears to be impossible to perform, pre-operative irradiation can facilitate tumour excision. If the post-irradiation resection is complete, its result is as good as after total primary excision. If it is incomplete, its result is comparable with the result of radio/chemotherapy and inferior to the result of incomplete primary excision with post-operative adjuvant therapy. It remains difficult to appreciate the benefit of neo-adjuvant radiotherapy.