Combination carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel as a first-line treatment for advanced thymic carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Thymic carcinoma is a very rare neoplasm for which no optimal chemotherapeutic regimen has been established to date. Hence, we performed this study to investigate the e cacy and safety of carboplatin plus nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel as a rst-line regimen for patients with advanced thymic carcinoma.Patients and methods: We conducted this multi-institutional retrospective cohort study of patients with advanced thymic carcinoma who had received carboplatin plus nab-paclitaxel as a rst-line chemotherapy between August 2013 and December 2021.Results: Twelve patients were included in this study and were subjected to e cacy and safety analysis.Their median age was 62 years (range, 47-74 years), and all had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status score of 0 or 1. After a median follow-up time of 19.7 months, the overall response rate was 50%; the median progression-free and overall survival times were 8.8 months and 23.3 months, respectively. Chemotherapy-related peripheral neuropathy was observed in 2 patients (16%; each with grade 1). Other toxicities were manageable, and there were no treatment-related deaths.Conclusion: Carboplatin plus nab-paclitaxel as a rst-line chemotherapy regimen showed good e cacy and safety in patients with advanced thymic carcinoma.