A Meta-analysis on Effects of Adjuvant Radiotherapy after Radical Resection of Thymoma

ObjectiveOur goal was to evaluate whether patients with completely resected thymoma were able to benefit from postoperative radiotherapy. Methods Three databases (including EMBASE, CINAHL, and MEDLINE) were searched as well as reference lists of articles and contacted authors were screened. Randomized controlled trails and controlled clinical trials were identified. Data were estimated with the Cochrane collaboration's RevMan 4.3 software. Results Seven controlled clinical trials involving 740 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that there were no significant differences in recurrence rates and survival rates between radiantion group and no radiantion group,OR=1.36, 95% CI (0.42, 4.46), P=0.61,and OR=1.45, 95% CI (0.86, 2.44), P=0.16,respectively. Conclusion The adjuvant radiotherapy after complete resection of thymoma was albe to reduce the recurrence rates or improve the survival rates, and should not used routinely for patients after complete resection.