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Doubling time of thymic epithelial tumours on CT: correlation with histological subtype

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Abstract

Objectives

We retrospectively evaluated the doubling time (DT) of thymic epithelial tumours (TET) according to the histological subtype on CT.

Methods

From January 2005 to June 2016, we enrolled 53 patients who had pathologically confirmed TET and at least two CT scans. Tumour size was measured using a two-dimensional method, and the DT was calculated. DTs were compared among histological subtypes, and factors associated with rapid tumour growth (DT <180 days) were assessed.

Results

In 42 of the 53 patients (79.2%) the tumours showed interval growth (>2 mm) during follow-up. The median DT for all tumours was 400 days (range 48–1,964 days). There were no significant differences in DT in relation to histological subtype (p = 0.177). When TETs were recategorized into three groups, i.e. low-risk thymomas (types A, AB, B1), high-risk thymomas (types B2, B3), and thymic carcinoma, DT was significantly different among the groups (median DT 436, 381 and 189 days, respectively; p = 0.031). Histological subtype (type B3 and thymic carcinoma) was the single independent predictor of rapid tumour growth.

Conclusions

The majority of TETs grew during follow-up with variable and relatively slow growth rates. Histological features of aggressive behaviour significantly correlated with a decreased DT and rapid growth.

Key points

• The majority of thymic epithelial tumours grew during follow-up (79.2%, 42/53).

• Doubling times of thymic epithelial tumours were highly variable (median 400 days).

• Histological features of aggressive behaviour significantly correlated with a decreased doubling time.

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Abbreviations

CT:

Computed tomography

DT:

Doubling time

IQR:

Interquartile range

TET:

Thymic epithelial tumour

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, 88 Olympic-ro 43 Gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, 138-736, Korea

    Jooae Choe, Sang Min Lee, Namkug Kim, Kyung-Hyun Do & Joon Beom Seo

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan University Hospital, Ulsan, Korea

    Soyeoun Lim

  3. Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea

    Se Hoon Choi

Authors
  1. Jooae Choe
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  2. Sang Min Lee
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  3. Soyeoun Lim
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  4. Se Hoon Choi
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  5. Namkug Kim
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  6. Kyung-Hyun Do
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  7. Joon Beom Seo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sang Min Lee.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Dr. Sang Min Lee.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Funding

The authors state that this work did not receive any funding.

Statistics and biometry

No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board approval was obtained.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board.

Methodology:

• Retrospective

• Observational

• Performed at one institution

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Choe, J., Lee, S.M., Lim, S. et al. Doubling time of thymic epithelial tumours on CT: correlation with histological subtype. Eur Radiol 27, 4030–4036 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-4795-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-017-4795-y

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