A case of advanced gastric cancer achieved a pathological complete response by chemotherapy

Abstract Background Although chemotherapy is the first recommended treatment of unresectable gastric cancer, a pathological complete response is a rare event. Case presentation A 58-year-old male was diagnosed as gastric cancer with a bulky tumor, lymphadenopathy, and suspicious peritoneal dissemina...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kazuhiro Tada, Tsuyoshi Etoh, Yuki Shitomi, Yoshitake Ueda, Manabu Tojigamori, Hidefumi Shiroshita, Norio Shiraishi, Masafumi Inomata
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2017-05-01
Series:Surgical Case Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40792-017-0344-9
Description
Summary:Abstract Background Although chemotherapy is the first recommended treatment of unresectable gastric cancer, a pathological complete response is a rare event. Case presentation A 58-year-old male was diagnosed as gastric cancer with a bulky tumor, lymphadenopathy, and suspicious peritoneal dissemination. The patient underwent chemotherapy with S-1 and cisplatin. After three courses of chemotherapy, a computed tomography showed dramatic improvements in gastric wall thickening, shrinkage of lymphadenopathy, and disappearance of disseminated peritoneal lesion. The patient underwent potentially curative resection by total gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection. Histological examination revealed the absence of malignant cells not only in the resected specimen but also in the harvested lymph nodes. At present, more than 7 years after the initial surgery, the patient is still alive without any recurrence. Conclusions We obtained a pathological complete response by chemotherapy with S-1 and cisplatin for advanced gastric cancer. Although a pathological complete response is a rare event, it would be associated with the long-term survival of patients with advanced gastric cancer.
ISSN:2198-7793