Major organ threat' mediastinal tumors'Early diagnosis is important because survival rate is not high
Sep 22, 2024
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Based on the heart, the mediastinum is divided into anterior mediastinum, posterior mediastinum, and median mediastinum between them. In the mediastinum, organs and organs that are important for sustaining life, such as the aorta and major blood vessels, bronchial tubes, esophagus, heart, and intercostal nerves, are located. Mediastinal tumors vary depending on where the tumor is formed. Thymadenoma is the most common in the anterior mediastinum, and several types of cystic tumors and lymphomas occur mainly in the case of the mediastinum. In the posterior mediastinum close to the spine, the frequency of tumors originating in the nerve is high.
Symptoms vary depending on the organ the tumor compresses. If you press the bronchial tubes, you will suffer from coughing and shortness of breath, and if you press the esophagus, you may feel a foreign body in your throat. If the intercostal nerve is stimulated, it is accompanied by neurological symptoms when compressing the surrounding nerves, such as intercostal neuralgia, and if it is a laryngeal nerve, it is accompanied by emotional (split voice). When the aorta is compressed, the arteries of the neck become thicker, resulting in collateral blood circulating, and veins may be found in areas that were not usual. In the case of thymoma, one of the malignant tumors, about half are known to show severe work history characterized by temporary muscle weakness and fatigue. For this reason, if you are diagnosed with severe work history, it is better to reversely determine whether there is thymoma through chest computed tomography (CT).
The fundamental treatment is surgical complete resection that removes the tumor, and if resection such as metastasis is impossible, it is treated through radiation irradiation. Traditionally, a lot of mid-thoracic osteotomy has been performed to divide the breast bone in half and recently, tumors are removed by thoracoscopy or robotic surgery to minimize scarring and pain.
Professor Hwang Jin-wook of Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery at Korea University Ansan Hospital said, `In the case of thymoma, which has the highest incidence in adults among mediastinal tumors, the tumor breaks through the membrane of thymoma and invades surrounding organs to increase the possibility of recurrence, so the thymus itself, not part of the tumor, should be removed"If the resected thymoma is found to have penetrated the surrounding tissue, radiotherapy should be performed later", he explained.
In particular, Professor Hwang stressed that `Recently, a joint research team on cardiovascular thoracic surgery at Korea University Medical Center compared and analyzed the effects of single-hole robotic thymectomy and conventional thoracoscopic thymectomy for the first time in the world, and the stability of robotic surgery was better in terms of complications and the number of days of discharge.'
As the risk factors for mediastinal tumors are unclear, there are no specific ways to prevent them. However, early diagnosis is possible as the number of finding mediastinal tumors in low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) performed for medical examinations is steadily increasing.
Professor Hwang advised that `The earlier the mediastinal tumors are detected, the better the prognosis, like any disease.' `If a mediastinal tumor is found in a medical examination, additional tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MIR) should be performed to more accurately determine the location or shape and then appropriate treatment should be continued.'
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