[Two-year survivor in response to gemcitabine-based chemotherapy for advanced pancreatic cancer with multiple lung...

A 65-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for appetite loss and jaundice. Abdominal CT scan and ultrasonography both revealed a tumor in the head of the pancreas. Chest CT scan showed multiple nodules in both lungs. The patient was diagnosed as having advanced pancreatic cancer with multiple lung metastases. The primary tumor showed a partial response to the administration of gemcitabine 1,000 mg/m2 on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle. Concurrent treatment with 5-fluorouracil (200 mg/day) was efficacious against the lung metastases. One year later the pancreatic and lung tumors had enlarged, and cisplatin (20 mg/body) was added to the protocol. For 20 months the patient was treated as an outpatient, maintaining good quality of life. The patient died of progressive disease 25 months after her first hospital admission.