Treatment of early stage thymic tumors: surgery and radiation therapy.

Tumors of the thymus are an uncommon entity, constituting 30% and 15% of anterior mediastinal masses in adults and children, respectively. The majority of these tumors are thymomas, with thymic carcinomas less common, and thymic carcinoids exceedingly rare. Recognition of the distinct clinicopathologic behavior of various thymic neoplasms is crucial to providing optimal treatment.