If thymus cancer spreads
Cancer cells can spread from the thymus to other parts of the body. This spread is called metastasis.
Understanding how a type of cancer usually grows and spreads helps your healthcare team plan your treatment and future care.
Thymoma doesn’t usually spread outside the chest. Thymic carcinoma is more likely to spread widely throughout the chest and to other parts of the body (distant sites).
If thymus cancer spreads, it most commonly spreads to the following:
- nearby fat tissue
- thin layer of tissue that covers the lungs and lines the chest cavity (pleura)
- lungs
- sac around the heart (pericardium)
Thymus cancer may also spread to the following areas and distant sites: