Table 3.
Selected clinical trials of postoperative radiation therapy for stage II and III thymoma.
| Author/Name of Study | Year | No. of Patients | Masaoka Stage | Median (Range) RT Dose | Survival Outcomes | Conclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berman et al. [53] (45) | 2011 | 175 | II | 50.4 Gy (not reported) | Local recurrence rate 0% with PORT, 8% without PORT (p = 0.15) | PORT not beneficial in controlling local recurrence in Stage II disease. |
| Chang et al. [54] (46) | 2011 | 76 | II and III | 50 Gy (43.2–66 Gy) | 5-year DFS—98% with PORT, 80% without PORT 10-year DFS—93% with PORT, 70% without PORT (p = 0.043) |
PORT beneficial in prolonging time to disease recurrence in Stage II and III thymoma. |
| Curran et al. [55] (47) | 1988 | 57 | II and III | 50 Gy (32–60 Gy) | 5-year DFS—100% with PORT, 45% with PORT (p = 0.12). | Nonsignificant trend towards improvement in DFS with PORT. |
| Forquer et al. [56] (48) | 2010 | 901 | Local and Regional Disease (SEER) | Not reported | Localized—5-year DSS 91% with PORT, 98% without PORT (p = 0.03). No difference in OS (p > 0.05) Regional—5-year OS 76% with PORT vs. 66% without PORT (p = 0.01). No difference in CSS. |
PORT not beneficial in localized disease, may be beneficial in regional disease. |
| Kondo et al. [57] (49) | 2003 | 1,320 | II and III | Median not reported (<40–53.8 Gy) | II—Local recurrence 0% with PORT, 1.6% without PORT (p > 0.05) III—5.1% with PORT, 3.1% without PORT (p > 0.05) |
PORT not beneficial in completely resected stage II or III disease. |
| Rena et al. [58] (50) | 2007 | 197 | II | Median not reported (45–54 Gy) | Five intrathoracic recurrences total, 3 with PORT and II without PORT (p = 0.432) | PORT not beneficial in stage II disease. |
| Utsumi et al. [59] (51) | 2009 | 159 | II and III | 40 Gy (10–50 Gy) | II—100% DSS in all patients. III—88% DSS with PORT, 85% without PORT (p > 0.05). |
PORT not beneficial in stage II or III disease. |
RT = radiation therapy; PORT = postoperative radiation therapy; SEER = Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results; DFS = disease-specific survival; OS = overall survival; DSS = disease-specific survival.