Complete response to uracil-tegafur alone in advanced rectal cancer

We report a case of a complete response to treatment with uracil-tegafur (UFT) alone in advanced rectal cancer. The patient was an 84-year-old woman referred to our hospital complaining of anal bleeding. A colonoscopy revealed a Borrmann type II tumor in the rectum, which was diagnosed as an adenocarcinoma. Therefore, best supportive care was initiated in April 2011 with oral administration of UFT. The anal bleeding stopped 2 months later, and the patient's general condition remains good at one year. A further colonoscopy at one year after initiation of treatment in April 2012 resulted in reclassification of the tumor as an Isp lesion, and the biopsy was negative for cancer. The patient was still alive with no sign of recurrence at 21 months after commencing UFT alone with no surgical treatment. These results suggest that chemotherapy with UFT alone can yield complete remission from advanced rectal cancer.