Neoadjuvant therapy of rectal cancer using oral tegaful-uracil (UFT) plus concomitant radiotherapy--a case report

A 59-year-old male patient with rectal cancer 2 cm in diameter (T2) at the peritoneal reflection with suspicious left lateral node metastasis was treated with 400 mg of preoperative oral uracil and tegaful (UFT) for 5 weeks, 5 days a week in combination with concomitant radiotherapy of 45 Gy per 25 fractions for 5 weeks. After resting for another 5 weeks, colon fiberscopy, barium enema, and computed tomography revealed a trace of the primary tumor and a 40% shrinkage of the lateral metastasis. The serum CEA level decreased to the normal range during treatment. The adverse effects were nausea, bloody stool and elevation of transaminase, all at grade 1. Low anterior resection with a left hemi-lateral lymphadenectomy was performed through a suprapubic, one hand-size incision without laparoscopy. The preoperative treatment did not affect any operative procedures, and no postoperative complications occurred. The surgical specimen showed that the rectal tumor had been remarkably shrunk by the preoperative treatment, to the level of a superficial type tumor. Histological analysis indicated moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma cells that were present at only 2 mm in diameter in the mucosal layer, 6 mm in the submucosal layer, and 1 mm or less in the muscular layer with scar formation. No metastasis was detected in the 16 lymph nodes dissected, but an organizing tumor thrombus, which had preoperatively been diagnosed as lateral node metastasis, was detected. These results suggest that preoperative oral UFT plus concomitant radiotherapy may be a feasible, tolerable and effective treatment for patients with rectal cancer.