A 10-YEAR SURVIVOR WITH UNRESECTABLE HEPATIC METASTASES FORM SIGMOID COLON-CARCINOMA TREATED WITH REGIONAL CHEMOTHERAPY

We treated a man with unresectable hepatic metastases from sigmoid col on carcinoma who has since survived for more than 10 years. A sigmoide ctomy with lymph node dissection was performed and a continuous hepati c arterial infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with intermittent infusio n of mitomycin C (MMC) was administered for about 3 months after this operation. The total doses of 5-FU and MMC were 16 g and 84 mg, respec tively. Tegafur also was administered orally at a dose of 600 mg/day f or about 8 months. The carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level (which had reached 4,409 ng/ml preoperatively) normalized 4 months after surgery , and still remains normal. Very few patients with unresectable hepati c metastases survive for 5 or more years. However, regional chemothera py can be effective in some patients.