en Radiation Biology Radiation Biology تحقيق بديع Original Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:10pt"><span style="text-justify:newspaper"><span style="text-kashida-space:50%"><span style="line-height:119%"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:black"><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:#1f497d"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-weight:bold"><span style="language:en-US">Background:</span></span></span></span></span></span> <span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="language:en-US">This study investigates whether temporal muscle thickness (TMT) has prognostic significance in nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). Additionally, it introduces a novel composite index, TEMA, which integrates TMT and serum albumin levels to enhance prognostic stratification. </span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:#1f497d"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-weight:bold"><span style="language:en-US">Materials and Methods: </span></span></span></span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="language:en-US">The study retrospectively encompassed 61 NPC patients receiving definitive therapy during the period January 2014&ndash;October 2024. TMT was extracted from computed tomography (CT) scans, and serum albumin (g/dL) was measured from blood specimens collected immediately before definitive treatment commenced. The novel TEMA index was defined as: TEMA = TMT &times; serum albumin. </span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:#1f497d"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-weight:bold"><span style="language:en-US">Results: </span></span></span></span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="language:en-US">Patients were aged 18&ndash;88 years (median, 49). The follow-up duration varied from 4 to 129 months with a median of 45 months. In univariate analyses, albumin significantly predicted progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.02), while overall survival (OS) showed significant associations with albumin (p = 0.006), TMT (p = 0.016), and TEMA index (p = 0.017). </span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="color:#1f497d"><span style="font-style:italic"><span style="font-weight:bold"><span style="language:en-US">Conclusion: </span></span></span></span></span></span><span lang="en-US" style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="language:en-US">In patients with NPC treated with definitive intent, TMT and serum albumin showed significant associations with OS. A composite index that integrates these biomarkers (e.g., TEMA) may facilitate treatment decision-making and risk/prognostic stratification.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div> Nasopharyngeal cancer, myopenia, temporal muscle thickness, albumin, TEMA. 655 662 http://ijrr.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-1557&slc_lang=en&sid=1 T. Koca timurkoca3@gmail.com 7900319475328460034181 7900319475328460034181 Yes Department of Radiation Oncology, Akdeniz University School of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey D.A. Çetmi 7900319475328460034182 7900319475328460034182 No Department of Radiation Oncology, Akdeniz University School of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey R.A. Aksoy 7900319475328460034183 7900319475328460034183 No Department of Radiation Oncology, Izmir City Hospital, Izmir, Turkey A.F. Korcum 7900319475328460034184 7900319475328460034184 No Department of Radiation Oncology, Akdeniz University School of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey