Annemarie Shepherd, MD, medical director of Fred Hutch Cancer Center – Proton Therapy, has a special interest in thymic cancers, a type of thoracic cancer. Thoracic cancers develops in the chest, or thoracic cavity, which contains the heart, lungs, esophagus, and other organs.
Shepherd serves on multiple committees in the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG) and chairs the ITMIG International Tumor Board.
Thymic cancers are extremely rare. They arise from the thymus gland, which is located in the chest above the heart. The thymus gland creates T cells and other immune-related cells that fight infection and is an important immune organ.
There are two major types of thymic tumors — thymomas and thymic carcinomas.
Thymomas are less aggressive than thymic carcinoma and…