Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Minimally Invasive versus Open Thymectomy for Thymic Malignancies: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Complete resection is the standard of care for treatment of thymic malignancies. The use of minimally invasive surgery remains controversial. We searched online databases and identified studies from 1995 to 2014 that compared minimally invasive to open thymectomy for thymic malignancies. ⋯ When patients with Masaoka stage I and II thymic malignancy only were analyzed, there was no difference in rate of R0 resection or overall recurrence rate. One postoperative death occurred in the open group. The results of this unadjusted meta-analysis of published reports comparing minimally invasive with open thymectomy suggest that in selected patients with thymic malignancy, minimally invasive thymectomy is safe and can achieve oncologic outcomes similar to those of open thymectomy.