Evaluation of the prognostic value of surgery and postoperative radiotherapy for patients with thymic neuroendocrine tumors: A propensity‐matched study based on the SEER database

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) for primary thymic neuroendocrine tumors (TNETs) was estimated using the SEER database. METHODS: This retrospective study used SEER data of TNET patients between 1998 and 2015. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed according to whether surgery was performed. The prognostic effects on overall survival (OS) and cancer‐specific survival (CSS) were evaluated using multivariate Cox regression. RESULTS: A total of 3947 patients were included: 293 (7.4%) TNET, 2788 (70.6%) thymoma, and 866 (21.9%) thymic carcinoma. Compared to other subtypes, TNET patients were younger, included a larger proportion of men, had a well or moderately differentiated histological grade, higher disease stage at diagnosis, and were more likely to have regional lymph node metastasis. The median OS and CSS for TNET were 82.9 (95% confidence interval 74.3–91.4) and 101.9 (95% confidence interval 91.9–111.8) months, respectively, significantly shorter than for thymomas. In the matched cohort of TNET patients, multivariate analysis of OS and CSS revealed a significantly poorer prognosis in the non‐surgery group (P < 0.001). Compared to total/radical resection, TNET patients who underwent debulking resection had significantly inferior outcomes (P < 0.05). Postoperative radiotherapy favorably impacted OS and CSS in Masaoka–Koga stage III–IV TNET patients; this OS impact was also observed in stage IIB patients. CONCLUSION: TNETs are extremely rare with relatively dismal outcomes. This analysis revealed the role of complete surgical resection and the favorable effect of postoperative radiotherapy in specific TNET subgroups.