An exploratory study of CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation for stage I thymoma

BACKGROUND: Thymoma is a rare tumor that originates from thymic epithelial cells and is usually associated with myasthenia gravis. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive and curative treatment for other tumors, but RFA has not been used for the early treatment of thymoma. METHODS: The current study included 13 patients with stage I thymoma who were not candidates for surgical resection or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). All patients underwent first-line CT-guided percutaneous RFA. The feasibility and therapeutic effects of the intervention were thoroughly documented. RESULTS: All tumors were completely ablated (13 / 13, 100%). During follow-up (median 80.5 months, range, 64.6–116.9 months), only 1 of the 13 patients had recurrence of thymoma (1 / 13, 7.7%) at 35.5 months after the initial ablation. There were no surgery-related deaths after RFA treatment. The most common complications were fever (13 / 13, 100%) and pain (13 / 13, 100%). There was only one patient who occurred severe puncture-related bleeding during the procedure that needed blood transfusion and intravascular embolization of the punctured-injured vessel. CONCLUSION: CT-guided percutaneous RFA for treatment of stage I thymoma is associated with minor trauma, few complications and good treatment outcomes.