The annual British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG) conference was held in Belfast again this year from March 3rd to March 5th 2025. I was fortunate to attend and represent ThymicUK at the advocacy meeting and the wider conference which is a valuable opportunity for learning and networking with the lung thoracic oncology community (with over 1000 delegates).
After having a designated session for thymic cancers in 2024, this year the main source of interest came from the poster presentations. Five presentations concerned thymic tumours, diagnosis, management, treatment and follow up. I have summarised the 3 key posters displayed at the conference below.
1.      Thymic pathologies conundrum requires establishment of a Central MDT-West Midlands-UK
Misauq Mazcuri, Maninder Kalkat, Apurna Jegannathen, Gary Middleton, Lakshmi Srinivasan, Hazem Fallouh, Jacqui Morgan, Babu Naidu, Ahmed Oiley, Robert Stevenson, Ambreen Abid, Salah Al-Haddi
A regional Thymoma MDT was established by 12 local trusts in Central England to provide evidence-based management of thymic conditions for patients referred after local discussion. The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcomes of this MDT.
As a result, they now have a core group of specialists from each of the trusts to represent the central MDT who have agreed on the referral criteria, pathways and guidelines for the region. This collaborative framework has helped in tailoring treatment plans, allow productive discussion, and assess outcomes. The Group is keen to conduct further audits to improve SOPS and promote closed loop communication with timely management.
Rebecca Duerden, Matthew Evison7, Stephen Robinson, Anna Sharman, Shalini Datta, Kanadai Rammohan, Maria Angeles Montero-Fernandez, David Gilligan, British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG) Thymic Malignancies Specialist Interest Group, on behalf of
The conclusion from this poster was that the published algorithm to guide management of anterior mediastinal lesions has been well received and positive feedback suggests how further support can be provided to the thoracic oncology community by BTOG to manage these increasingly prevalent lesions.
Ala Elwasila, Maggie Harris, Kira Rogers, Yvonne Summers
This poster received a RUNNER UP POSTER AWARD at the conference
The Christie team analysed 213 patients diagnosed with TET (Thymic Epithelial Tumours) retrospectively over a 16-year period. 163 received curative treatment, of which 27 (17%) patients recurred. All those under regular follow-up recurred within 7 years, with 22 (81.5%) picked up on routine scans. 24/27 were considered ‘high risk’.
They concluded that relapses are uncommon but most relapses occurred in the expected high-risk group especially of incomplete resection and could be over 5 years post diagnosis.
Follow-up is vital for identifying recurrent disease, however, for low-risk patients the risk-benefit ratio of frequent CT scans in the later years should be revisited.
If anyone has any comments or would like any further information relating to these posters or the BTOG 2025 conference please contact me at marrika@thymicuk.org as I would be happy to discuss.
We also welcome any suggestions of particular areas of interest or topics that you would like to see represented in a potential ThymicUk poster for next years BTOG conference in Edinburgh 2026.
Any ideas you may have please get in touch!
