OBJECTIVES: Thymic malignancies are rare, and options are limited for metastatic 
disease. Src plays a role in normal thymic epithelial maturation, and its 
inhibition with the oral compound saracatinib was postulated to be effective in 
controlling thymic malignancy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with unresectable thymic malignancy were treated 
with saracatinib 175mg by mouth daily in 28 days cycles with radiographic 
evaluation at cycle 2 day 1 for safety, then cycle 3 day 1 and every 8 weeks 
thereafter. Response was evaluated by RECIST 1.0. A two-stage optimal design was 
used, powered to detect a true response rate of 20%.
RESULTS: 21 patients were enrolled at two institutions, 12 of them with thymoma, 
9 with thymic carcinoma. Thymoma patients received a median of 4.5 cycles and 
thymic carcinoma patients a median of 1 cycle. There were no responses, so 
accrual was halted after the first stage per protocol. 9 patients had stable 
disease beyond the first assessment. Median time to progression was 5.7 months 
for thymoma patients and 3.6 months for thymic carcinoma patients. Saracatinib 
was well tolerated.
CONCLUSION: Src inhibition by saracatinib did not produce any radiographic 
responses, though some patients did experience stable disease. Though negative, 
this study shows the feasibility of completing a trial in this rare disease, and 
of accruing reasonably significant numbers of thymic carcinoma patients. More 
clinical trials are required for this population (NCT00718809).