Thymomas are the most common thymic tumors. The identification of their prognostic factors remains a controversial issue because of their rarity. The main aim of our work was to identify the factors influencing the survival of operated thymomas.

Retrospective study/ 50 cases / January2000 to March2021

The average age was 44±16years[8-76years] with a sex ratio M/F of0.6. Myasthenia was discovered in68% of cases. Surgical treatment was the cornerstone of management. Eighty-six percent of patients had exclusive surgery. The most frequent MASAOKA stage was stageII(44%) and the most frequent histological type was B2(40%). The average size was 10cm. The limits of excision were R0,R1and R2 in 80%,12% and 8% of cases respectively.Three patients had only adjuvant radiotherapy and three had adjuvant radiochemotherapy. The average follow-up time was 50 months. No deaths were noted and 2 locoregional recurrences were found in 4% of patients. The mean overall survival was 108 months. Survival at 1, 2 and 5 years was 88%, 82% and 72% respectively. Analysis of survival according to age(p=0,757), gender(p=0,135), myasthenia gravis(p=0,116), surgical approach (lymph node dissection p=0,424), adjuvant treatment(radiotherapy p=0,118), MASAOKA clinical stage(p=0,984), and WHO histological type(p=0,243) did not show significant differences. Only the quality of resection(p=0,036) and tumor size(p=0,026) influenced the survival.

The prognostic factors of operated thymoma are still debated. There is no clear consensus. This justifies the importance of conducting larger studies. Only the knowledge of these prognostic factors can improve the management and thus the survival of patients operated for thymoma.