An interventional study of Diaphragm Fluoroscopy and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Recurrent Malignant Thymoma and Thymoma, sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-18.
Sponsored by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic
This trial studies the accuracy of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in imaging the inside of the chest in patients with thymoma that is newly diagnosed or has come back. An MRI scan may be able to detect if and how far the tumor has spread more accurately than a standard computed tomography (CT) scan.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To determine whether thymoma staging by MRI is as accurate as staging by CT as compared to surgical staging.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
I. To determine whether evaluation of phrenic nerve paralysis by functional MRI is as accurate as the fluoroscopic "sniff test" as compared to surgical evaluation of phrenic nerve involvement.
II. To determine whether fast novel MRI sequences are as accurate as conventional MRI sequences for staging thymoma, when comparing to surgical staging.
OUTLINE:
Patients undergo an MRI scan over 45-60 minutes and a diaphragm fluoroscopy 30 days before surgery.
133 studies on the registry are indexed under Thymoma; 37 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is close to the median of 44 across 108 interventional studies indexed under Thymoma.
Browse Thymoma studies →M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is the lead sponsor of 3,047 studies on the registry; 578 are open to participants now.
Of its 612 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 409 (67%) have results posted.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)
GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².
Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Patients undergo an MRI scan over 45-60 minutes and a diaphragm fluoroscopy 30 days before surgery.
Procedure: Diaphragm Fluoroscopy · Procedure: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Undergo diaphragm fluoroscopy
Also known as: Sniff Test
Undergo MRI
Also known as: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan, Medical Imaging, Magnetic Resonance / Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, MRI, MRI Scan, NMR Imaging, NMRI, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) staging
Will be compared to staging done by computed tomography (CT). McNemar's test will be used to compare the accuracy for the following five sets of comparisons: spin echo (SE) T1 compared versus (vs.) liver acquisition with volume acquisition (LAVA)+ in-phase (IP)/out-of-phase (OP), Dixon versus fast spin echo (FSE) T2, LAVA+IP/OP+Dixon vs. SET1+FSET2, LAVA+IP/OP+Dixon vs. computed tomography (CT) scan, and SET1+FSET2 vs. CT scan. A p value less than 0.05 will be defined as significant. A p value less than 0.05 will be defined as significant.
Time frame: Up to 10 years
Accuracy of phrenic nerve paralysis by functional MRI
Will be evaluated against the fluoroscopic "sniff test" and compared to surgical evaluation of phrenic nerve involvement. The outcome is the binary indicator of whether the phrenic nerve is involved. The accuracy rate will be calculated for each of the three tested methods. And the method with the highest accuracy will be compared with the method with the medium accuracy and the method with least accuracy separately, using McNemar's test.
Time frame: Up to 10 years
Accuracy of fast novel MRI sequences
Will be evaluated against conventional MRI sequences for staging thymoma when compared to surgical staging. Will use the pathological stages as gold standard and calculate accuracy for the new shorter MRI sequences and current MRI sequences methods. Accuracy will be compared between two MRI techniques using McNemar's test. And the following five sets of comparisons will be tested: SE T1 compared vs. LAVA+ IP/OP, Dixon versus FSE T2, LAVA+IP/OP+Dixon vs. SET1+FSET2, LAVA+IP/OP+Dixon vs. CT scan, and SET1+FSET2 vs. CT scan. A p value less than 0.05 will be defined as significant.
Time frame: Up to 10 years
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Sep 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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