Thymoma
This cancer develops in the outer surface of the thymus, a gland behind the breastbone that produces T-cells, a type of white blood cells. Thymoma is rare, but it is the most common tumor in adults affecting the mediastinum, which is the cavity between the lungs containing the heart, esophagus, and trachea. A tumor of the thymus tends to grow slowly and rarely spreads to other parts of the body. However, of the estimated 400 Americans who develop this cancer each year, half are diagnosed with metastatic thymoma. When the cancer metastasizes, only 45% of patients survive five years after their diagnosis. Please see the DICOM converted Slide Microscopy images for the TCGA-THYM collection page to learn more about the histopathology images and to obtain any supporting metadata for this collection.
Can it answer your research question?
2 of 6 supportedOverall survival
LimitedVital status is informative for 100% of cases, but too few events or no time to event.API
Progression or recurrence
Limitedprogression_or_recurrenceis informative for 10% of cases.APITreatment response
Supporteddisease_responseis populated for 100% of cases; criteria: complete response, partial response.APIWhich drug was given
Limitedtherapeutic_agentsis recorded for 7% of cases.APIStage-adjusted modelling
Not supportedajcc_pathologic_stageis informative for 2% of cases.APIAnalysis by race or ethnicity
SupportedRace is informative for 98% of cases.API
At a glance
Every percentage is the repository’s own record of what is filled inSubjectCALC
As filed by the repository
Who is in the cohortAPI
- Sex64 male · 60 female
- Race103 white · 13 asian · 6 black or african american · 1 not reported · 1 unknown
- Ethnicity100 not hispanic or latino · 10 hispanic or latino · 10 not reported · 4 unknown
- Vital status115 alive · 9 dead
Age at diagnosis
What was measured, and on how many
- microRNA sequencing124 of 124 · 100%
- SNP genotyping array (copy number, germline)124 of 124 · 100%
- DNA methylation array124 of 124 · 100%
- Clinical124 of 124 · 100%
- DICOM medical imaging124 of 124 · 100%
- Whole exome sequencing123 of 124 · >99%
- Whole-slide diagnostic images121 of 124 · 98%
- Bulk RNA sequencing120 of 124 · 97%
- Whole genome sequencing111 of 124 · 90%
- Somatic Structural Variation111 of 124 · 90%
- Reverse phase protein array90 of 124 · 73%
Platform, files and data levels
| Assay | Platform | Files | Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| microRNA sequencingAPI | illumina | 378 | - |
| SNP genotyping array (copy number, germline)API | illumina | 1,598 | - |
| DNA methylation arrayAPI | illumina | 378 | - |
| ClinicalAPI | - | 266 | - |
| DICOM medical imagingAPI | - | - | DICOM series |
| Whole exome sequencingAPI | illumina | 1,970 | - |
| Whole-slide diagnostic imagesAPI | illumina | 181 | - |
| Bulk RNA sequencingAPI | illumina | 1,098 | - |
| Whole genome sequencingAPI | illumina | 1,667 | - |
| Somatic Structural VariationAPI | - | 413 | - |
| Reverse phase protein arrayAPI | illumina | 90 | - |
How complete all 29 clinical fields are - 15 informative for at least 80% of cases
Outcome
Follow-up
Treatment
Diagnosis
Demographics
Access
Data Access Request through dbGaP using an eRA Commons account; institutional signing official approval required
- Open components
- 3,189 open-access files
- Controlled components
- 4,832 controlled-access files
- Typical turnaround
- days to a few weeks after signing official approval
- License
- NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy terms
- Citation requirement
- Cite the dataset accession and the program's publication guidelines; see the GDC publication policy.
What it is good for
Written and checked by a reviewer, not generated from metadata.
No reviewed research questions yet. The measurements and field completeness above are machine-extracted and still useful for judging fit.
What it cannot tell you
Written by a reviewer against the source, not inferred from what is missing.
No reviewed limitations yet. Check the field completeness chart above before committing to an analysis. Low coverage on an endpoint you need is the most common blocker.
Who has used it
Articles that analyzed these data, counted separately from articles that only cited the paper. Only the first counts as reuse.
What articles did with it
- Cited the paper318
- Mentioned the dataset0
- Accession found in text0
- Declared using it16
- Analyzed the data41
Against comparable datasets
- Analyzed it41
- Expected~68
- Reuse is within the expected range for comparable datasets (index -0.71).
Original publication
Articles that analyzed the data
Community examples
Share your exampleAnalyses someone ran on these data end to end, each with a receipt recording when it ran, against which packages and for how long.
Nobody has shared an analysis of this dataset yet. The examples on other datasets cover the common patterns and can be adapted - and if you adapt one, it belongs here.
Start here
Starter code generated from this record’s own identifiers, then the access steps.
Get the data in code
GDC: list open files and download thempython
import json, requests
PROJECT = "TCGA-THYM"
filters = {"op": "and", "content": [
{"op": "in", "content": {"field": "cases.project.project_id", "value": [PROJECT]}},
{"op": "in", "content": {"field": "access", "value": ["open"]}},
]}
params = {"filters": json.dumps(filters),
"fields": "file_id,file_name,data_category,data_type,file_size",
"size": "10000", "format": "JSON"}
files = requests.get("https://api.gdc.cancer.gov/files", params=params, timeout=60).json()["data"]["hits"]
print(len(files), "open files")
# Write a manifest and fetch with the GDC client (https://gdc.cancer.gov/access-data/gdc-data-transfer-tool)
with open("manifest.txt", "w") as fh:
fh.write("id\n" + "\n".join(f["file_id"] for f in files))
# $ gdc-client download -m manifest.txtGDC: clinical table for every casepython
import json, requests
filters = {"op": "in", "content": {"field": "project.project_id", "value": ["TCGA-THYM"]}}
params = {"filters": json.dumps(filters), "size": "5000", "format": "TSV",
"fields": ",".join([
"submitter_id", "demographic.vital_status", "demographic.days_to_death",
"diagnoses.days_to_last_follow_up", "diagnoses.ajcc_pathologic_stage",
"diagnoses.treatments.treatment_type", "diagnoses.treatments.treatment_outcome"])}
tsv = requests.get("https://api.gdc.cancer.gov/cases", params=params, timeout=60).text
open("TCGA-THYM_clinical.tsv", "w").write(tsv)IDC: pull the DICOM collection with idc-indexpython
from idc_index import IDCClient
COLLECTION = "tcga_thym"
client = IDCClient()
series = client.index[client.index["collection_id"] == COLLECTION] # one row per DICOM series
print(len(series), "series,", series["PatientID"].nunique(), "patients,",
round(series["series_size_MB"].sum() / 1024, 1), "GB")
print(series["Modality"].value_counts().to_dict())
# Everything above is an index lookup and costs nothing. Uncomment to pull the pixels;
# the client refuses up front if the disk cannot hold them.
# client.download_from_selection(collection_id=COLLECTION, downloadDir="./tcga_thym")This page as data: limitations firstbash
curl -s https://cd2s.vercel.app/data/datasets/gdc-tcga-thym.json | python3 -c '
import json, sys
r = json.load(sys.stdin)
for l in r["limitations"]:
print(l["severity"].upper(), "-", l["statement"][:120])
print("survival endpoint:", r["longitudinal"]["has_survival_endpoint"], "| treatment response:", r["longitudinal"]["has_treatment_response"])'Access steps
- Open the project in the GDC Data PortalFor people
Check the portal's current case and file counts before requesting anything; the cohort can change after this record was built.
https://portal.gdc.cancer.gov/projects/TCGA-THYM - Download the open files without an accountFor people
3,189 open-access files are marked open access. Add them to a portal cart, export a manifest, and fetch it with the GDC Data Transfer Tool.
https://gdc.cancer.gov/access-data/gdc-data-transfer-toolgdc-client download -m gdc_manifest.txt - Request controlled access through dbGaPFor people
4,832 controlled-access files require an approved data access request. The request starts at dbGaP, not in the portal. The relevant study is phs000178.
https://gdc.cancer.gov/access-data/obtaining-access-controlled-data - Download controlled files with your tokenFor people
An approved request yields a token. The same manifest fetches nothing controlled without it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_id=phs000178gdc-client download -m gdc_manifest.txt -t gdc-user-token.txt - Query the project from code, with no credentialsFor agents
The file index is public even where files are not, so an agent can size the cohort before anyone requests access.
https://docs.gdc.cancer.gov/API/Users_Guide/Getting_Started/curl -s 'https://api.gdc.cancer.gov/files' --get \ --data-urlencode 'filters={"op":"in","content":{"field":"cases.project.project_id","value":["TCGA-THYM"]}}' \ --data-urlencode 'fields=file_id,file_name,data_type' \ --data-urlencode 'size=10000' --data-urlencode 'format=TSV' - Pass the token when the agent needs controlled filesFor agents
Without a token, an API query may return only the open subset. Compare returned counts with the record before treating them as the whole cohort.
https://docs.gdc.cancer.gov/API/Users_Guide/Getting_Started/curl -H "X-Auth-Token: $GDC_TOKEN" https://api.gdc.cancer.gov/data/<file_id>
Provenance
All of it, and more, is in this record’s JSON.
Identifiers
Versions and verification
- Released
- 1 Jan 2018
- Metadata retrieved
- 18 Sept 2026
- Review status
- Machine-extracted
- Data generation funding
- Funded data generation
Funding
Funded data generation
- U24CA211000Pathway and Network Integration of Cancer Genomics and Clinical DataBenjamin Raphael, Jen Jen YehAPI2
- U24CA210999Global Infrastructure for Collaborative High-throughput Cancer Genomics AnalysisGAD A GETZAPI2
- U24CA210990UCSC-Buck Specialized Genomic Data Analysis Center for the Genomic Data Analysis NetworkJOSHUA Michael STUARTAPI2
- U24CA210957OHSU Center for Specialized Data Analysis as part of the GDANEmek Demir, PAUL T. SPELLMANAPI2
- U24CA210950Integrated analysis of protein expression data from the Reverse Phase Protein Array (RPPA) platformRehan Akbani, GORDON B. MILLSAPI2
- U24CA210949Batch effects in molecular profiling data on cancers: detection, quantitation, interpretation, and correctionRehan Akbani, GORDON B. MILLSAPI2
- U24CA144025Harvard Genome Characterization CenterRaju S. KucherlapatiAPI2
- U24CA143883Integrative Pipeline for Analysis & Translational Application of TCGA Data (GDAC)Rehan Akbani, GORDON B. MILLSAPI2
- U24CA143882The USC-JHU Cancer Epigenome Characterization CenterSTEPHEN B. BAYLIN, Daniel Joseph WeisenbergerAPI2
- U24CA143867Genome Characterization Center (GCC)Stacey Gabriel, Matthew L. MeyersonAPI2
Funded reuse of these data
- T32CA009302Leveraging innovative technologies in basic and clinical cancer researchLAURA D ATTARDI, Aaron M NewmanAPI
- R01CA198291Preclinical Testing of a Novel Therapy Targeting AXL in Advanced Kidney CancerErinn B Rankin, Amato J. GiacciaAPI
Funded infrastructure or harmonization
- P30CA016672Cancer Center Support GrantPETER W PISTERS, Fernando J BenavidesAPI
- P30CA008748Antitumor AssessmentElisa de Stanchina, FRANCESCA M GANYAPI
- P30CA124435BiostatisticsMANISHA DESAI, Ryan D. LeibAPI