AUTHOR=Gerber Tiemo Sven , Strobl Stephanie , Marx Alexander , Roth Wilfried , Porubsky Stefan 

TITLE=Epidemiology of thymomas and thymic carcinomas in the United States and Germany, 1999-2019

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2023

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2023.1308989

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2023.1308989

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=Mediastinal tumors, particularly non-neuroendocrine thymic epithelial tumors (TET) are relatively uncommon, posing challenges for extensive epidemiological studies. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of these tumors in the United States (US) and Germany (GER) from 1999 to 2019. Patients aged 0-19 (n=478) and ≥20 years (n=17,459) diagnosed with malignant tumors of the anterior mediastinum were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry (SEER) and the Zentrum für Krebsregisterdaten (ZfKD) databases. Among patients aged ≥20 years, TETs accounted for the most prevalent anterior mediastinal tumors (US/GER: 63%/ 64%), followed by lymphomas (14%/ 8%). For patients <20 years, predominant tumors included germ cell tumors (42%/ 14%), lymphomas (38%/ 53%), and TETs (10%/ 27%). The overall annual incidence of thymoma was 2.2/2.64 (US/GER) per million inhabitants and for thymic carcinomas 0.48/ 0.42. The male-to-female ratio was 1:1.09/ 1.03, and the mean age 59.48±14.89/ 61.33±13.94. Individuals with thymomas, but not thymic carcinomas, exhibited a 21%/ 29% significantly heightened risk of developing secondary malignancies compared to controls with non-thymic primary tumors. This study provides a comparative analysis of anterior mediastinal tumors, particularly TETs, in the US and GER over the past two decades. Furthermore, it highlights a significantly elevated incidence of secondary malignancies in thymoma patients.