The thymus gland refers to an organ in your chest, meaning, underneath your breastbone. It is an essential part of the lymphatic system of the body’s immune system. The thymus gland is responsible for producing white blood cells which are known as lymphocytes, that help your body fight infection.
Thymus cancer can be categorized into two main kinds, namely – thymoma and thymic carcinoma. And these both are rare types of cancers. The condition of thymus cancer occurs when cancer cells start forming on the outside surface of the thymus.
In this article, we are going to talk about thymus cancer causes, thymus cancer symptoms, and more.
SYMPTOMS OF THYMUS CANCER
Approximately 4 out of 10 people do not experience any kind of symptoms of thymus cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. However, when symptoms occur, they may be associated with coughing, difficulty in inhaling and exhaling, pain in the chest, having trouble in swallowing, loss in the appetite of the patient, or excessive weight loss. Oftentimes, there can be a delay in the diagnosis of thymus cancer because the symptoms are very unspecific.
It is important to note that cancer can spread to other parts of the body. This spreading of cancer cells from one part of the body to the other is known as metastasis. Doctors can provide a better treatment plan when they can understand how cancer is spreading from one part of the body to the other.
THYMUS CANCER CAUSES
Due to the rare presence of this disease, it is not easy to inspect thymus cancer causes. Many times, the risk factors overlap with the thymus cancer causes. Several factors like age, ethnicity, etc can be the risk factors for developing thymus cancer. For example, older people are more likely to develop thymus cancer in comparison to younger kids. Also, people from Asian or African ethnicity are more likely to be vulnerable to thymus cancer, as has been found in the study conducted in the US.
Not much is known about what are thymus cancer causes. However, it has been found that DNA changes in the body may lead to the development of cancer. However, it is still not certain, why do these changes occur in people, exactly what causes these changes in the DNA, and how do these changes in the DNA lead to the formation of cancer.
TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR THYMUS CANCER
The following are the treatment options that are recommended by the doctors for the treatment.
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Hormone therapy
- Targeted therapy
- immunotherapy
However, it is important to note that these treatments also carry side effects and the patient must seek this treatment after fully taking all risks and expectations into consideration. Patients suffering from thymus cancer will also require follow-up appointments that will further check-up patients and provide further assistance on the treatment of thymus cancer during the different stages.
