Thymectomy in the Setting of Synchronous Pleural Metastases

In individuals with thymic neoplasms the pleural space serves as a site for synchronous tumor dissemination. At the time of diagnosis, pleural disease is observed in approximately 10–15% of thymoma patients and in 20–30% of those with thymic carcinoma, whether clinically evident or occult. The standard of care for treating thymoma is complete surgical resection (R0), but when pleural dissemination is present, achieving R0 resection of pleural nodules becomes challenging. In the context of thymoma patients with pleural dissemination, there is a lack of consensus regarding the optimal treatment approach.