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Response to sorafenib in cisplatin-resistant thymic carcinoma: a case report

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Abstract

Platinum-based chemotherapy regimens are often recommended for patients with unresectable thymic carcinoma. In more than 60 cases, however, the systemic chemotherapy provides little benefit. In this report, we described a case of advanced KIT- and VEGF-positive thymic carcinoma with liver and lung metastasis. The patient, a 46-year-old man, exhibited a resistance to cisplatin-based chemotherapy, but responded to the treatment with sorafenib, a molecular target-based therapy. After 4 months of sorafenib therapy, his lung and liver metastases as well as the mediastinal tumor shrank dramatically. Moreover, the tumors showed stable disease for at least 9 months. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report about a response of advanced thymic carcinoma to sorafenib. The preliminary study suggested that molecular target-based therapy could be an alternative treatment to those chemotherapy-refractory patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oncology, Quanzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 215 South Wenling Road, Quanzhou, 362000, People’s Republic of China

    Xiao-feng Li & Wei-xian Huang

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Fujian Provincial Tumor Hospital, Fuma Road, Fuzhou, 350014, People’s Republic of China

    Qiang Chen & Yun-bin Ye

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  1. Xiao-feng Li
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  2. Qiang Chen
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  3. Wei-xian Huang
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  4. Yun-bin Ye
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Correspondence to Xiao-feng Li.

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Li, Xf., Chen, Q., Huang, Wx. et al. Response to sorafenib in cisplatin-resistant thymic carcinoma: a case report. Med Oncol 26, 157–160 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-008-9100-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12032-008-9100-0

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