Nab-paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin for a previously treated thymic carcinoma

Abstract

We present the case of a 40-year-old man with previously treated thymic carcinoma, complaining of gradually worsening back pain. Computed tomography scans of the chest showed multiple pleural disseminated nodules with a pleural effusion in the right thorax. The patient was treated with carboplatin on day 1 plus nab-paclitaxel on day 1 and 8 in cycles repeated every 4 weeks. Objective tumor shrinkage was observed after 4 cycles of this regimen. In addition, the elevated serum cytokeratin 19 fragment level decreased, and the patient's back pain was relieved without any analgesics. Although he experienced grade 4 neutropenia and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) injection, the severity of thrombocytopenia and nonhematological toxicities such as reversible neuropathy did not exceed grade 1 during the treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the efficacy of combination chemotherapy consisting of carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel against thymic carcinoma. This case report suggests that nab-paclitaxel in combination with carboplatin can be a favorable chemotherapy regimen for advanced thymic carcinoma. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.