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Treatment Options for Thymoma and Thymic Carcinoma

Stage I and Stage II Thymoma

Treatment of stage I thymoma is surgery.

Treatment of stage II thymoma is surgery followed by radiation therapy.

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage I thymoma and stage II thymoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your doctor about clinical trials that may be right for you. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

Stage III and Stage IV Thymoma

Treatment of stage III and stage IV thymoma that may be completely removed by surgery includes the following:

Surgery with or without radiation therapy.
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery with or without radiation therapy.
A clinical trial of anticancer drugs in new combinations or doses.
A clinical trial of new ways of giving radiation therapy.

Treatment of stage III and stage IV thymoma that cannot be completely removed by surgery includes the following:

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery and/or radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy.
A clinical trial of anticancer drugs in new combinations or doses.
A clinical trial of new ways of giving radiation therapy.

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage III thymoma and stage IV thymoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your doctor about clinical trials that may be right for you. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

Thymic Carcinoma

Treatment of thymic carcinoma that may be completely removed by surgery includes the following:

Surgery with or without radiation therapy.
A clinical trial of anticancer drugs in new combinations or doses.
A clinical trial of new ways of giving radiation therapy.

Treatment of thymic carcinoma that cannot be completely removed by surgery includes the following:

Radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy with or without surgery to remove part of the tumor and/or radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy with radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy.
A clinical trial of anticancer drugs in new combinations or doses.
A clinical trial of new ways of giving radiation therapy.

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with thymic carcinoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your doctor about clinical trials that may be right for you. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

Recurrent Thymoma and Thymic Carcinoma

Treatment of recurrent thymoma and thymic carcinoma may include the following:

Surgery with or without radiation therapy.
Radiation therapy.
Hormone therapy.
Chemotherapy.
A clinical trial of anticancer drugs in new combinations or doses.
A clinical trial of new ways of giving radiation therapy.

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with recurrent thymoma and thymic carcinoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. Talk with your doctor about clinical trials that may be right for you. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

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