[Role of Palliative Care in the Introduction of Chemotherapy in Patients with Poor Performance Status].

Chemotherapy for patients with poor performance status(PS)is not recommended because it increases the risk of death and shortens their survival. We report on 3 cases in which palliative care improved PS and enabled chemotherapy, resulting in a prolonged prognosis. Case 1 involves a 57‒year‒old woman with multiple lung, liver, and bone metastases from breast cancer who was administered celecoxib and oxycodone. She received Mohs paste therapy. Her PS improved from 3 to 2, and paclitaxel and trastuzumab were started; however, the patient died on day 861. Case 2 involves a 53‒year‒old woman with multiple lymph node metastases from carcinoma of an unknown primary cause. She was administered oxycodone, loxoprofen, and dexamethasone. Her PS improved from 4 to 3. The biopsy of her bone marrow showed diffuse large B‒cell lymphoma. The patient is still alive, 6 years and 10 months after the introduction of R‒CHOP. In case 3, a 57‒year‒old man with multiple bone metastases from small cell lung cancer was administered loxoprofen and betamethasone. His PS improved from 4 to 3. Etoposide and carboplatin were administered to him, but the patient died on day 692. Palliative care may enable the introduction of chemotherapy and consequently improve prognosis.

[Advanced Gastric Cancer with Tumor Shrinkage Persisting after the Discontinuation of Nivolumab-A Case Report].

The patient was a 65-year-old man with advanced gastric cancer, cT4bN3aM1, cStage Ⅳ. The SOX therapy was administered as the primary treatment but discontinued after 9 courses because of disease progression. The PTX plus RAM therapy was then administered for 1 courses as the secondary treatment but discontinued because of the development of peritoneal dissemination, increased number of ascites, and increased number of lymph node metastases. The nivolumab(NIV)therapy was initiated as the tertiary treatment, but the patient complained of fatigue and diplopia after 2 courses. Ptosis was observed, and transaminase and creatine kinase levels were elevated. Electrocardiography showed complete right bundle branch block. The patient showed immune-related adverse events and was diagnosed with myocarditis and myasthenia gravis due to NIV. Consequently, systemic steroids were administered. Although 2 course of CPT-11 was administered as the fourth-line treatment, the treatment was discontinued upon the patient's request. Ten months after the discontinuation of chemotherapy, the disease showed no progression. The patient is being followed-up as an outpatient. Here, we reported a case of gastric cancer with tumor shrinkage after the discontinuation of NIV.

[A Case of Recurrent Breast Cancer with Contralateral Axillary Node Recurrence Cured after Mastectomy for Ipsilateral Breast Tumor Recurrence].

A 65-year-old woman was treated with breast-conserving therapy for dissection of the left breast and axillary lymph nodes. Histopathological diagnosis was invasive breast cancer(scirrhous), T1cN2M0, stageⅡB, ER+/PgR+/HER2-. Approximately 4 years later, a mass found in her left breast was confirmed to be ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence(IBTR). Left mastectomy was performed because no clear metastasis was found on whole-body examination. Histopathological diagnosis was invasive breast cancer(solid-tubular), ER-/PgR-/HER2-. IBTR was of a different type, compared to the primary breast cancer. In the follow-up period, multiple axillary lymph node metastases were found in the right axilla. Histopathologically, 20 lymph node metastases were found, and ER-/PgR-/HER2-breast cancer-related lymph node recurrence was diagnosed. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy(PTX, TS-1)was administered. In the 10 years following IBTR, there has been no recurrence, and it is thought to be completely cured. Usually, contralateral axillary lymph node recurrence is treated the same way as distant metastases because they are extra-regional lymph nodes; however, this strategy is not applicable to IBTR. When surgery is performed for IBTR, the contralateral axillary lymph node may become a new sentinel lymph node, and thus, sufficient examination and accurate risk assessment may be necessary before surgery for local control.

[A Long-Surviving Case of HER2-Positive Breast Cancer with Brain Metastasis Treated through Multidisciplinary Therapy].

We present a case of a 48-year-old woman who visited our hospital due to a lump in her left breast. She was diagnosed with HER2-positive, hormone-positive stage III A breast cancer. The patient underwent trastuzumab-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery(Bt+Ax). The pathological effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was Grade 1b. The patient underwent radiotherapy and was administered hormone therapy and adjuvant trastuzumab. Seven months postsurgery, the patient was taken to the hospital for loss of consciousness. Single brain metastasis with a diameter of 3 cm was found in the right frontal lobe with edema. She underwent surgery and was administered chemotherapy with lapatinib and capecitabine. Because of relapse of brain metastasis, she underwent 4 surgeries and 5 sessions of gamma-knife radiosurgery. She died 7 years after the detection of brain metastasis. The prolonged survival of this breast cancer patient with brain metastasis seems to be a result of multidisciplinary therapy, local therapy(surgery and radiation), and systemic therapy(chemotherapy). Cooperation between the radiation therapy department and the neurosurgery department was thought to be important for the treatment of the metastatic brain tumor.