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Mediastinal tumor - Treatment

Alternative Names

Thymoma - mediastinal; Lymphoma - mediastinal

Treatment:

Treatment for mediastinal tumors depends on the type of tumor.

For thymic cancers, surgery is the treatment of choice. It may be followed by radiation or chemotherapy, depending on the stage of the tumor and the success of the surgery.
For lymphomas, chemotherapy followed by radiation is the treatment of choice.
For neurogenic tumors of the posterior mediastinum, surgery is the treatment of choice.

Expectations (prognosis):

The outcome depends on the type of tumor. Different tumors respond differently to chemotherapy and radiation.

Complications:

Complications of mediastinal tumors include:

Spinal cord compression
Spread to nearby structures such as the heart, lining around the heart (pericardium), and great vessels (aorta and vena cava)

Radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy can all have serious complications.

Calling your health care provider:

Call your health care provider if you notice symptoms of a mediastinal tumor.

Lungs

Reviewed last on: 9/6/2010
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; James R. Mason, MD, Oncologist, Director, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program and Stem Cell Processing Lab, Scripps Clinic, Torrey Pines, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Celli BR. Diseases of the diaphragm, chest wall, pleura, and mediastinum. In Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: chap 100.

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