Efficacy of chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel for unresectable thymic carcinoma.
BACKGROUND
Thymic carcinoma is a very rarely encountered neoplasm and no optimal chemotherapeutic regimen has been established yet.


METHODS
The records of previously untreated thymic carcinoma patients with unresectable disease who had been treated with paclitaxel and carboplatin as first-line chemotherapy between 2003 and 2008 were reviewed, retrospectively. Paclitaxel was administered at the dose of 200mg/m(2) and carboplatin at an AUC of 6 on day 1, with the treatment cycle repeated every 3 weeks.


RESULTS
Eleven patients were registered, and a total of 45 cycles of carboplatin/paclitaxel were administered (median cycles per patient, 4; range, 2-6). Although the principal toxicity of this regimen was neutropenia, with grade 3 or more severe neutropenia being observed in nine patients (82%), there were no cases of febrile neutropenia. There were also no cases of grade 3 or more severe peripheral sensory neuropathy. Thus, the toxicity profile of the treatment regimen was acceptable. The overall response rate was 36%, and the median survival time and median progression-free survival were 22.7 months and 7.9 months, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Combined paclitaxel+carboplatin therapy exhibits activity and acceptable toxicity in the first-line setting in patients with unresectable thymic carcinoma.
Igawa
Satoshi
S
Division of Thoracic Oncology, Shizuoka Cancer Center, 1007, Nagaizumi, Shizuoka 411-8777, Japan.
Murakami
Haruyasu
H
Takahashi
Toshiaki
T
Nakamura
Yukiko
Y
Tsuya
Asuka
A
Naito
Tateaki
T
Kaira
Kyoichi
K
Ono
Akira
A
Shukuya
Takehito
T
Tamiya
Akihiro
A
Endo
Masahiro
M
Yamamoto
Nobuyuki
N
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016190:Carboplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D013945:Thymoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality
D016190:Carboplatin; D017239:Paclitaxel