Thymoma: Current Status and Future Directions
In Greek, the thymus means "soul" which stemmed from the belief that it houses the soul. In reality, the thymus gland is the seat of our immune system. Without it, we would die from overwhelming infections as infants. But like other tissues in the body, cancers can develop from the thymus. These are called thymic epithelial tumors (or TETs), which consist of thymoma and thymic carcinomas. TETs are rare tumors that arise in the chest and are associated with a unique pattern of spread and association with many different types of autoimmune diseases such as myasthenia gravis, hypogammaglobulinemia, and blood disorders. Since the early 1980s, investigators from the cancer center have led clinical and basic research in TETs that has made it an international center of excellence for thymic tumors.
Join medical oncologists, Patrick J. Loehrer Sr., MD, and Rohan Maniar, MD, as they discuss the current research landscape and advances in treatment of TETs.
