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Abstract  Primary thymic epithelial neoplasms (PTENs) are uncommon tumors of anterior mediastinum with a broad range of biological characteristics. We retrospectively reviewed 58 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of PTENs that were confirmed pathologically during 28 yr. There were 58 patients, 31 males (53.4%) and 27 females (46.6%), with a mean age of 43.6 �13.8 yr (range, 17–73 yr). Twenty-one (36.2%) patients presented at the Masaoka stage I, 13 (22.4%) patient at stage II, 18 (31.0%) patient at stage III, and 6 (10.4%) patients at stage IV. Forty-five (77.7%) patients had myasthenia gravis, 1 (1.7%) immune deficiency, 1 (1.7%) pancytopenia, and 1 (1.7%) nephrotic syndrome. No paraneoplastic syndrome was associated in 10 (17.2%) patients. Complete resection was accomplished in 41 (70.7%) patients, while incomplete resection was performed in 8 (13.8%) patients. In nine (15.5%) patients only biopsy was carried out. Radiotherapy was administered to 19 (32.8%) patients. Eleven (19.0%) out of 58 who presented at advanced stages (at least III) received chemotherapy. Median follow-up period was 59 mo (range, 1-278 mo). During the follow-up period, 17 deaths occurred. Five patients (29.4%) died of tumor-related causes, and the remaining 12 patients died of other causes (cardiovascular diseases [n = 1, 5.9%], sepsis [n = 4, 23.5%], and MG-related respiratory insufficiency [n = 7, 41.2%]). The overall survival rates at 5 yr and 10 yr were 63.9% and 54.2%, respectively. Tumor-related survival rates at 5 yr and 10 yr were 89.0% and 83.2%, respectively. In our series, disease stage, presence or absence of myasthenia gravis, and tumor size did not affect survival (p> 0.05), either. Complete resection of the tumor seems to be the best predictive factor for long-term survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) is a B cell lymphoma characterized by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. HL comprises 1% of all cancer cases and 14% of all lymphoma cases. Aims: We designed a retrospective study to investigate the clinical features and prognostic factors of HL patients diagnosed at an experienced oncology centre. Study Design: Retrospective study. Methods: Demographic characteristics, histopathological and clinical features, treatment modalities and response to treatment were obtained from hospital records. Dates of initial diagnosis, remission and relapse, last visit and death were recorded for survival analyses. Results: We analysed data of 391 HL patients (61% male, 39% female; mean age 35.7±15.1 years). The most common classical HL histological subtype was nodular sclerosing HL (NSHL) (42.7%). The most common stage was II 50.4%. The most common chemotherapy regimen was doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (ABVD) (70.6%). Five and 10-year survival rates were 90% and 84%, respectively. Early-stage patients with good prognostic factors had better overall and relapse-free survival rates. The presence of “B” symptoms, albumin level, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance score, and LDH were prognostic factors that affect the survival in both univariate and multivariate analyses. Conclusion: This is the first study that demonstrates the demographic, clinical and prognostic features of HL patients in Turkey, and provides a general picture of the HL patients in our country.