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Ambrogi MC, Aprile V, Lenzini A, Bacchin D, Mastromarino MG, Korasidis S, Lucchi M. TNM Staging System in Thymoma: A Critical Appraisal? J Clin Med 2024; 13:610. [PMID: 38276116 PMCID: PMC10817025 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13020610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/19/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Thymomas are rare tumors of the anterior mediastinum with peculiar clinical and pathological features. They have been deeply analyzed by pioneer authors, who strictly linked their name to the main pathological and staging classifications. Before the latest edition of the WHO classification of thymic epithelial tumors, the history of thymoma pathological classification inherited the name of the pathologists who systematically addressed the issue, from Levine-Rosai to Muller-Hermelink. Similarly, the thymoma staging system is intimately related to the name of two surgeons, Masaoka and Koga, who historically dealt with this disease. More recently, the traditional tumor-nodes-metastasis (TNM) system has been developed for the staging of this condition, in a rational attempt to put thymomas in conformity with the other solid tumors. The efforts of the International Thymic Malignancies Interest Group (ITMIG) and the Thymic Domain of the Staging and Prognostic Factors Committee (TD-SPFC) of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) resulted in the TNM classification of thymic tumors, which have been included in the eighth edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer's (AJCC) Cancer Staging Manual. Herein, we report a narrative review of the evolution of the thymic epithelial tumors (TET) staging system and present a critical appraisal of the actual TNM classification compared with the historical Masaoka-Koga classification, with special focus on the proposal for the ninth edition of the TNM, expected in 2024.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcello Carlo Ambrogi
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Department, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.C.A.); (A.L.); (D.B.); (M.G.M.); (S.K.); (M.L.)
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Vittorio Aprile
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Department, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.C.A.); (A.L.); (D.B.); (M.G.M.); (S.K.); (M.L.)
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Alessandra Lenzini
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Department, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.C.A.); (A.L.); (D.B.); (M.G.M.); (S.K.); (M.L.)
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Diana Bacchin
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Department, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.C.A.); (A.L.); (D.B.); (M.G.M.); (S.K.); (M.L.)
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
| | - Maria Giovanna Mastromarino
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Department, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.C.A.); (A.L.); (D.B.); (M.G.M.); (S.K.); (M.L.)
| | - Stylianos Korasidis
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Department, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.C.A.); (A.L.); (D.B.); (M.G.M.); (S.K.); (M.L.)
| | - Marco Lucchi
- Division of Thoracic Surgery, Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Department, University of Pisa, 56127 Pisa, Italy; (M.C.A.); (A.L.); (D.B.); (M.G.M.); (S.K.); (M.L.)
- Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
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