Background: To compare the predictive effect of the Masaoka-Koga staging system and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC)/the International Thymic Malignancies Interest Group (ITMIG) proposal for the new TNM staging on prognosis of thymic malignancies using the Chinese Alliance for Research in Thymomas (ChART) retrospective database.
Methods: From 1992 to 2012, 2,370 patients in ChART database were retrospectively reviewed. Of these, 1,198 patients with complete information on TNM stage, Masaoka-Koga stage, and survival were used for analysis. Cumulative incidence of recurrence (CIR) was assessed in R0 patients. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated both in an R0 resected cohort, as well as in all patients (any R status). CIR and OS were first analyzed according to the Masaoka-Koga staging system. Then, they were compared using the new TNM staging proposal.
Results: Based on Masaoka-Koga staging system, significant difference was detected in CIR among all stages. However, No survival difference was revealed between stage I and II, or between stage II and III. Stage IV carried the highest risk of recurrence and worst survival. According to the new TNM staging proposal, CIR in T1a was significantly lower comparing to all other T categories (P<0.05) and there is a significant difference in OS between T1a and T1b (P=0.004). T4 had the worst OS comparing to all other T categories. CIR and OS were significantly worse in N(+) than in N0 patients. Significant difference in CIR and OS was detected between M0 and M1b, but not between M0 and M1a. OS was almost always statistically different when comparison was made between stages I-IIIa and stages IIIb-IVb. However, no statistical difference could be detected among stages IIIb to IVb.
Conclusions: Compared with Masaoka-Koga staging, the IASLC/ITMIG TNM staging proposal not only describes the extent of tumor invasion but also provides information on lymphatic involvement and tumor dissemination. Further study using prospectively recorded information on the proposed TNM categories would be helpful to better grouping thymic tumors for predicting prognosis and guiding clinical management. .
背景与目的 使用中国胸腺协作组（Chinese Alliance for Research in Thymomas, ChART）回顾性数据，比较Masaoka-Koga分期系统和国际肺癌协会（International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, IASLC）/国际胸腺肿瘤协作组（International Thymic Malignancies Interest Group, ITMIG）推荐的新TNM分期对胸腺肿瘤预后的预测作用。方法 我们回顾分析了1992年-2012年ChART数据库共2,370例患者。其中1,198例信息完整的患者被纳入研究，按照TNM及Masaoka-Koga分期系统进行分期，并进行生存分析。评估指标为R0患者的累积复发率（cumulative incidence of recurrence, CIR）以及患者总生存率（overall survival, OS）。对比分析Masaoka-Koga分期系统和新的TNM分期系统。结果 根据Masaoka-Koga分期系统，不同分期CIR差异具有统计学意义，其中I期和II期或者II期和III期之间累积复发率无差异，IV期的患者具有更高的复发率，预后最差。根据新的TNM分期系统，T1a患者的累积复发率低于其他患者（P<0.05），T1a患者总生存高于T1b患者（P=0.004），T4患者总生存率差于其它患者。N（+）患者累及复发率及总生存率差于N0患者。在M0患者与M1b患者之间总体累积复发率和总体生存率差异具有统计学意义，但在M0和M1b患者之间二者无差异。I期-IIIa期与IIIb 期-IVb期患者之间总生存率具有差异，然而IIIb期与IVb期患者之间总生存率无差异。结论 与Masaoka-Koga分期相比，IASLC/ITMIG TNM分期系统不仅描述了肿瘤侵犯的范围，也提供了有关淋巴结转移和肿瘤播散的情况。使用新的TNM分期系统进行前瞻性研究有助于更好的对胸腺肿瘤分组，预测预后，并指导治疗。.