Thymic tumor is a relatively rare type of thoracic cancer, which is pathologically-classified as thymic epithelial tumors by World Health Organization (WHO), including thymoma and thymic carcinoma. The incidence of thymic epithelial tumors in China is about 4.09 per million, which is slightly higher than that in European and American countries. For surgically-resectable thymic epithelial tumors, complete resection with or without postoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy is preferred. For advanced unresectable disease, conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy is the mainstream treatment but lack of standard first-line and second-line regimens. In recent years, targeted drugs and the immune checkpoint inhibitors have gradually exhibited certain therapeutic prospect in this subset of tumor. Since there was no guideline regarding thymic epithelial tumor released in China, Multidisciplinary Committee on Oncology, Chinese Physicians Association analyze, summarize and discuss the relevant research data for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of thymic epithelial tumors, and formulate the "Chinese guidelines for clinical diagnosis and treatment of thymic epithelial tumors (2021 Edition)" for clinicians' reference.
China ; Humans ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial/therapy* ; Thymoma/therapy* ; Thymus Neoplasms/therapy*

OBJECTIVE: Fertility-sparing surgery (FSS) is becoming an important technique in the surgical management of young women with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). We retrospectively evaluated the outcome of laparoscopic FSS in presumed clinically early-stage EOC. METHODS: We retrospectively searched databases of patients who received laparoscopic FSS for EOC between January 1999 and December 2012 at Samsung Medical Center. Women aged < or =40 years were included. The perioperative, oncological, and obstetric outcomes of these patients were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 18 patients was evaluated. The median age of the patients was 33.5 years (range, 14 to 40 years). The number of patients with clinically stage IA and IC was 6 (33.3%) and 12 (66.7%), respectively. There were 7 (38.9%), 5 (27.8%), 3 (16.7%), and 3 patients (16.7%) with mucinous, endometrioid, clear cell, and serous tumor types, respectively. Complete surgical staging to preserve the uterus and one ovary with adnexa was performed in 4 patients (22.2%). Two out of them were upstaged to The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIIA1. During the median follow-up of 47.3 months (range, 11.5 to 195.3 months), there were no perioperative or long term surgical complications. Four women (22.2%) conceived after their respective ovarian cancer treatments. Three (16.7%) of them completed full-term delivery and one is expecting a baby. One patient had disease recurrence. No patient died of the disease. CONCLUSION: FSS in young patients with presumed clinically early-stage EOC is a challenging and cautious procedure. Further studies are urgent to determine the safety and feasibility of laparoscopic FSS in young patients with presumed clinically early-stage EOC.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use ; Female ; *Fertility Preservation ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Live Birth ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/blood/diagnosis/*therapy ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial/drug therapy/*pathology/*surgery ; *Organ Sparing Treatments ; Ovarian Neoplasms/drug therapy/*pathology/*surgery ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Rate ; Retrospective Studies ; Term Birth ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: To determine the most powerful cancer antigen 125 (CA125)-related prognostic factor for advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and to identify cut-off values that distinguish patients with a poor prognosis from those with a good prognosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 223 patients who received staging laparotomy and were diagnosed with stage IIC-IV serous EOC. Cox regression analysis was used to determine the most significant prognostic factor among the following variables: serum CA125 before surgery and after the first, second, and sixth cycles of chemotherapy; the nadir CA125 value; the relative percentage change in CA125 levels after the first and second cycles of chemotherapy compared to baseline CA125; CA125 half-life; time to nadir; and time to normalization of the CA125 level. RESULTS: The CA125 level after the first chemotherapy cycle was the most significant independent prognostic factor for overall survival (OS). Time to normalization (p=0.028) and relative percentage change between CA125 levels at baseline and after the first chemotherapy cycle (p=0.021) were additional independent prognostic factors in terms of OS. The CA125 level after the first chemotherapy cycle (p=0.001) and time to normalization (p<0.001) were identified as independent prognostic factors for progression free survival (PFS). CONCLUSION: Among well-established CA125-related prognostic factors, serum CA125 levels after the first cycle of chemotherapy and time to normalization were the most significant prognostic factors for both OS and PFS.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antineoplastic Agents/*therapeutic use ; CA-125 Antigen/*blood/metabolism ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial/*blood/*drug therapy/mortality ; Ovarian Neoplasms/*blood/*drug therapy/mortality ; Prognosis ; Regression Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Bevacizumab was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in recurrent platinum resistant epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), fallopian tube cancer (FTC), or primary peritoneal cancer (PPC) when no more than two prior cytotoxic regimens have been used; due to concerns for gastrointestinal perforation. We sought to determine bevacizumab-related toxicities in heavily pretreated recurrent EOC. METHODS: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with recurrent EOC, FTC, and PPC from 2001 to 2011. Patients who received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens before bevacizumab were included. Medical records were reviewed for bevacizumab associated toxicities. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was used to compare quantitative variables. Survival was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Sixty patients met inclusion criteria. At the start of bevacizumab treatment, the median age was 60 years and the median body mass index was 26.5 kg/m². More than 50% of patients received bevacizumab after three prior cytotoxic regimens. Grade 3 or higher bevacizumab associated toxicity events occurred in four patients, including one patient who developed a rectovaginal fistula. The median overall survival from the start of bevacizumab treatment was 21.05 months (95% CI, 18.23 to 32.67; range, 1.9 to 110 months). The number of cytotoxic regimens prior to bevacizumab treatment did not differ in those that experienced a toxicity versus those that did not (p=0.66). CONCLUSION: The use of bevacizumab in heavily pretreated EOC, FTC, or PPC is worth consideration.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angiogenesis Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Bevacizumab/*adverse effects ; Fallopian Tube Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Intestinal Perforation/chemically induced ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/*drug therapy ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial/*drug therapy ; Ovarian Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; Peritoneal Neoplasms/*drug therapy ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: Distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy may be required for optimal cytoreductive surgery in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) metastasized to splenic hilum. This study evaluates the morbidity and treatment outcomes of the uncommon procedure in the management of advanced or recurrent EOC. METHODS: This study recruited 18 patients who underwent distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy during cytoreductive surgery of EOC. Their clinicopathological characteristics and follow-up data were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: All tumors were confirmed as high-grade serous carcinomas. The median diameter of metastatic tumors located in splenic hilum was 3.5 cm (range, 1 to 10 cm). Optimal cytoreduction was achieved in all patients. Eight patients (44.4%) suffered from postoperative complications. The morbidity associated with distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy included pancreatic leakage (22.2%), encapsulated effusion in the left upper quadrant (11.1%), intra-abdominal infection (11.1%), pleural effusion with or without pulmonary atelectasis (11.1%), intestinal obstruction (5.6%), pneumonia (5.6%), postoperative hemorrhage (5.6%), and pancreatic pseudocyst (5.6%). There was no perioperative mortality. The majority of complications were treated successfully with conservative management. During the median follow-up duration of 25 months, nine patients experienced recurrence, and three patients died of the disease. The 2-year progression-free survival and overall survival were 40.2% and 84.8%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The inclusion of distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy as part of cytoreduction for the management of ovarian cancer was associated with high morbidity; however, the majority of complications could be managed with conservative therapy.
Adult ; Aged ; *Cytoreduction Surgical Procedures ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial/mortality/pathology/*surgery ; Ovarian Neoplasms/mortality/pathology/*surgery ; *Pancreatectomy/adverse effects ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology/therapy ; *Splenectomy/adverse effects ; Splenic Neoplasms/pathology/*secondary/*surgery

Epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) is a common gynecologic malignancy in women. The standard treatment for OC is maximal cytoreductive surgical debulking followed by platinum-based chemotherapy. Despite the high response rate to primary therapy, approximately 85% of patients will develop recurrent ovarian cancer (ROC). This review identifies the clinical use of trabectedin in the treatment algorithm for ROC, with specific emphasis on platinum-sensitive ROC, for which trabectedin in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin has been approved as a treatment protocol. The main mechanisms of action of trabectedin at the cellular level and in the tumor microenvironment is also discussed as bases for identifying biomarkers for selecting patients who may largely benefit from trabectedin-based therapies.
Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating ; therapeutic use ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; DNA Damage ; Dioxoles ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Doxorubicin ; administration & dosage ; analogs & derivatives ; Female ; Humans ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; drug therapy ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial ; drug therapy ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Polyethylene Glycols ; administration & dosage ; Tetrahydroisoquinolines ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Tumor Microenvironment

Ovarian cancer remains a major issue for gynecological oncologists, and most patients are diagnosed when the disease is already advanced with a poor chance of survival. Debulking surgery followed by platinum-taxane chemotherapy is the current standard of care, but based on several different strategies currently under evaluation, some encouraging data have been published in the last 4 to 5 years. This review provides a state-of-the-art overview of the available alternatives to conventional treatment and the most promising new combinations. For example, neoadjuvant chemotherapy does not seem to be inferior to primary debulking. Despite its outcome improvements, intraperitoneal chemotherapy struggles for acceptance due to the heavy toxicity. Dose-dense chemotherapy, after showing an impressive efficacy in Asian populations, has not produced equal results in a European cohort, and the results of alternative platinum doublets are not superior to those of carboplatin and paclitaxel. In this setting, adherence to a maintenance therapy after first-line treatment and multiple (primarily antiangiogenic) agents appears to be effective. Although many questions, including the duration of maintenance treatment and the use of bevacizumab beyond progression, remain unanswered, new biologic agents, such as poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, nintedanib, and mitogen-activated protein/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK) inhibitors, have emerged as potential therapeutic options in the very near future. Based on the multiplicity of available strategies, the histological and molecular features of the tumor, in addition to patient's clinical condition and disease state, continue to gain importance in guiding treatment choices.
Female ; Humans ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial ; drug therapy ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Inhibitors ; Standard of Care

In this issue of the Chinese Journal of Cancer, European, American, and Chinese experts review the current management and future perspectives of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), the leading cause of gynecological cancer deaths. Although major advances have been made in understanding the cellular and molecular biology of this highly heterogeneous malignancy, the survival rate of women with EOC has changed little since the introduction of platinum-based treatment as a front-line therapy. The papers describe the progress in deciphering the molecular complexity of this disease and the newly available molecular-driven therapies, which have been applied by shifting trial designs toward restricting eligibility to specific subgroups of patients rather than testing agents in unselected populations. These new trial designs provide potential opportunities for improved efficacy in targeted populations. Given the molecular complexity of this disease, patient survival may be increased by searching for new molecular prognostic/predictive signatures as well as by translating the recent insight of microRNA involvement in EOC progression into new, targeted therapies. Particular attention has been given to the issue of fertility sparing for women affected by curable diseases.
Female ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; physiology ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial ; drug therapy ; genetics ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; genetics

OBJECTIVE: Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) has experienced a renaissance lately as a binding site for targeted therapy as well as a prognostic marker in epithelial malignancies. Aim of this study was to study EpCAM as a potential prognostic marker in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: EpCAM expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded primary EOC-tissue samples. EpCAM overexpression was defined as an expression of EpCAM of 76% to 100%. Tissue samples and clinical data were systematically collected within the international and multicenter "Tumorbank Ovarian Cancer" network. RESULTS: Seventy-four patients, diagnosed with EOC between 1994 and 2009, were included in the study (median age, 56 years; range, 31 to 86 years). The majority of the patients (81.1%) presented with an advanced stage International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) III/IV disease. Histology was of the serous type in 41 patients (55.4%), endometrioid in 19 (25.6%), and mucinous in 14 (19%). EpCAM was overexpressed in 87.7%. Serous tumors overexpressed EpCAM significantly more often than mucinous tumors (87.8% vs. 78.6%, p=0.045); while no significant difference was noted between the other histological subgroups. EpCAM overexpression was significantly associated with a better progression free survival and higher response rates to platinum based chemotherapy (p=0.040 and p=0.048, respectively). EpCAM was identified as an independent prognostic marker for overall survival (p=0.022). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate a significant association of EpCAM overexpression with a more favorable survival in EOC-patients. Serous cancers showed a significant EpCAM overexpression compared to mucinous types. Larger multicenter analyses are warranted to confirm these findings.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, Neoplasm/*metabolism ; Antineoplastic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Carboplatin/therapeutic use ; Cell Adhesion Molecules/*metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Proteins/metabolism ; Neoplasm Staging ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Organoplatinum Compounds/*therapeutic use ; Ovarian Neoplasms/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Paclitaxel/therapeutic use ; Prognosis ; Tissue Banks ; Treatment Outcome ; Tumor Markers, Biological/*metabolism

PURPOSE: To investigate chemosensitivity with an adenosine triphosphate-based chemotherapy response assay in patients with epithelial ovarian or peritoneal cancer according to tumor histology, grade, and disease status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred specimens were collected during primary or secondary debulking from 67 patients with primary ovarian cancer, 24 patients with recurrent ovarian cancer, 5 patients with primary peritoneal cancer, and 4 patients with recurrent peritoneal cancer; samples were collected between August 2006 and June 2009. Tumor cells were isolated and cultured for 48 hours in media containing chemotherapy. The chemosensitivity index (CI) was calculated as 300 minus the sum of the cell death rate at 0.2x, 1x, and 5x drug concentrations, and the CI values were compared. RESULTS: CI values were obtained from 93 of 100 patients. The most active agents against primary disease were ifosfamide and paclitaxel. For primary serous adenocarcinoma, paclitaxel and irinotecan were the most active, followed by ifosfamide. For clear cell carcinoma, ifosfamide was the most active, followed by paclitaxel and irinotecan. Although not statistically significant, the CIs of cisplatin, carboplatin, paclitaxel, and docetaxel decreased as tumor grade increased. In 14 cases of recurrent disease, paclitaxel was the most active, followed by ifosfamide and cisplatin. CONCLUSION: Ifosfamide and paclitaxel were the most active drugs for primary and recurrent disease. Therefore, we recommend further clinical studies to confirm the efficacy of paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and cisplatin combination chemotherapy for recurrent and primary ovarian cancer.
Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell/*drug therapy/metabolism/pathology ; Adenosine Triphosphate/*metabolism ; Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/*therapeutic use ; Camptothecin/administration & dosage/analogs & derivatives ; Carboplatin/therapeutic use ; Cisplatin/administration & dosage ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor/methods ; Female ; Humans ; Ifosfamide/administration & dosage ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/*drug therapy ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial/*drug therapy/metabolism/pathology ; Ovarian Neoplasms/*drug therapy/metabolism/pathology ; Paclitaxel/therapeutic use ; Peritoneal Neoplasms/*drug therapy/metabolism/pathology ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Taxoids/administration & dosage