A meta-analysis of surgical versus nonsurgical management of recurrent thymoma.

This meta-analysis was designed to determine the effect of surgical and nonsurgical approaches on 5-year and 10-year overall survival (OS) in patients with recurrent thymoma. PubMed, Scopus, and the Journal of Japanese Association for Chest Surgery were queried, and 11 studies were eligible. Our meta-analysis using a random-effect model revealed significant differences in the rates of 5- and 10-year OS after thymectomy and in 5-year OS after recurrence, favoring surgically managed patients. Surgical resection may be associated with improved long-term survival and should be considered for patients with recurrent thymoma.