Clinical efficacy of albumin-bound paclitaxel combined with carboplatin in the treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Background: This study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) following induction chemotherapy (IC) with albumin-bound paclitaxel (ABP) combined with carboplatin, through the analysis of serum biomarkers and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data.Material and Methods: Ninety-six NPC patients were rolled into Group I (concurrent chemoradiotherapy) and Group II (IC with ABP and carboplatin+concurrent chemoradiotherapy).DCE-MRI scans were utilized to evaluate changes in lesion characteristics.Serum samples were collected to analyze tumor markers including cytokeratin 19 fragment antigen 21-1 (CYFRA21-1), SCC-associated antigen (SCC-Ag), and carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA-125), as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels.Toxicities and 2-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were also assessed.Results: Group II exhibited a markedly higher objective response rate and disease control rate versus Group I (35.4% vs. 58.3%,50.0% vs. 81.3%,respectively).MRI scans revealed a drastic reduction in the proportion of patients with obvious enhancement of primary lesions, invasion of the base of the skull/medial pterygoid muscle, etc. Serum levels of CYFRA21-1, SCC-Ag, CA125, and MDA were greatly decreased, while SOD and GSH-Px activities were notably increased (P<0.05).Group II showed a considerable increase in OS and PFS versus Group I (75.0% vs. 89.6%,68.8% vs. 83.3%,respectively, P<0.05).Conclusion: the combination of ABP and carboplatin has demonstrated enhanced efficacy and improved survival outcomes in patients with NPC, providing new insights and evidence for clinical application.