Eight-Year Long-Term Survival of an Advanced Gastric Cancer Patient Treated by Multidisciplinary Therapy Including Repeated Surgery and Metronomic Chemotherapy

Abstract

A 69-year-old male, who had gastric cancer with extensive intra-abdominal lymph node metastasis, received palliative distal gastrectomy. He underwent repeated resection of metachronous right and left adrenal metastatic lesions 2 years and 5.3 years after the initial operation, respectively. The patient also experienced right femoral bone metastasis and IVC tumour thrombus 2.9 years and 6.6 years after the initial surgery, which were treated by radiation therapy. The slowly progressive tumour status was maintained by continuation of metronomic chemotherapy including S-1 as a key drug, and a total of 8-year long-term survival was achieved. Although rare, some selected patients with advanced gastric cancer have a chance of long-term survival, like the current case. The efficacy of multidisciplinary therapy for far advanced gastric cancer patients, especially an important role of repeated surgery and metronomic chemotherapy, was discussed.