[Complete Response Achieved with Oral Anticancer Monotherapy for Unresectable Lymph Node Metastasis after Cecal...

We herein report an interesting case in which a complete response was achieved with oral anticancer monotherapy for unresectable lymph node metastasis after surgery for cecal cancer. A 78-year-old woman was referred to our hospital to undergo a detailed examination for anemia. The examination led to a diagnosis of cecal cancer. She underwent open right hemicolectomy combined with adjacent abdominal wall resection and reconstruction of abdominal wall defects the next month. During follow-up without adjuvant therapy at her request, right iliac lymph node metastasis was detected 5 months later. A lymphadenectomy by laparotomy was attempted 6 months later but ended as only an exploratory laparotomy because the metastatic lymph node was difficult to detach from the vascular wall. Starting the next month, oral anticancer monothera- py(TS-1, 80mg/day for 2weeks followed by 1week of rest)was started at the patient's request. Abdominal ultrasonography performed in March 2011 revealed no evidence of lymphadenopathy, and subsequent imaging tests also confirmed the absence of lymphadenopathy. The anticancer monotherapy was discontinued after 4 years of medication. The patient remains alive, after 3 years and 5 months of medication to date, without recurrence.