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Successful treatment of metastatic thymic carcinoma with cisplatin, vinblastine, bleomycin, and etoposide chemotherapy
Author(s) -
Carlson Robert W.,
Dorfman Ronald F.,
Sikic Branimir I.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19901115)66:10<2092::aid-cncr2820661008>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - vinblastine , bleomycin , medicine , thymic carcinoma , chemotherapy , etoposide , pathology , cisplatin , carcinoma , oncology , combination chemotherapy
Thymic carcinomas are rare malignant neoplasms of the thymic epithelium that are distinguished from the malignant thymomas by the presence of cytologic atypia. Thymic carcinomas may metastasize outside of the thorax and are associated with a very poor prognosis. Complete responses of thymic carcinoma to chemotherapy alone have not been reported. A 21‐year‐old man with metastatic undifferentiated carcinoma of probable thymic origin is presented who achieved a pathologic complete response with cisplatin, vinblastine, and bleomycin chemotherapy. Additional consolidative chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide was administered. the patient remains disease‐free 5 years after diagnosis. Cisplatin, vinblastine, and bleomycin chemotherapy appears to have significant activity against thymic carcinoma.