Lobulated tumor contour as a predictor of preoperative tumor invasion of the lung or pericardium in thymoma patients.

PURPOSE: Preoperative investigations to detect invasion to neighboring organs are important for deciding on the most appropriate surgical approach for thymoma. We evaluated preoperative computed tomography (CT) findings in thymoma patients to identify the CT features associated with tumor invasion.

METHODS

Clinicopathologic information on 193 patients who underwent surgical resection for thymoma at Chiba University Hospital between 2002 and 2016 was collected retrospectively. The surgical pathology identified invasion of thymoma in 35 patients: in the lung (n = 18), pericardium (n = 11), or both (n = 6). Contact lengths between the tumor contour and lung (CLTL) or pericardium (CLTP) were measured at the maximum section of the tumor on axial CT. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to analyze the relationship between pathological invasion of the lung or pericardium and the clinicopathologic features.

RESULTS

The mean CLTL and CLTP were significantly longer in patients with invasion of the neighboring organs than in those without invasion. A lobulated tumor contour was identified in 95.6% of the patients with invasion of the neighboring organs. A multivariate analysis revealed that a lobulated tumor contour was significantly associated with both lung and pericardial invasion.

CONCLUSIONS

A lobulated tumor contour was significantly associated with lung and/or pericardial invasion in thymoma patients.