[Metastatic gastric cancer successfully treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Case report]. / Un caso di neoplasia gastrica metastatica trattato con successo con chirurgia e chemioterapia.

A case of long-term survivor 50-year-old man treated for advanced gastric cancer with two liver metastases is described. Patient underwent a total gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy and atipic liver resection. After surgery, chemotherapy with PELF achieved a complete clinical response; six month from the fourth cycle, Ca19.9 levels slowly increased until 185 U/mL and a retro-peritoneal lymphadenopathy was detected by US. Three different chemotherapeutic combinations (FOLFOX, FOLFIRI, FOLFOX4) was administrated but two new liver recurrences spread out. From November 2007 until now, patient received 8 CDF cycles and he obtained a complete clinical response supported by persistent negativity of TC-PET scans. The radiological investigations performed after last admission in our Department for jaundice, revealed multiple liver lesions with Ca 19.9 levels of 6.766 U/mL. The patient required placement of metallic biliary endoprosthesis. He is still alive 41 month after primary surgery. We consider this case a successful example of survival increasing by integrated surgery-chemotherapy treatment but also an expression of the failure of current available therapy in the definitive cure for gastric cancer. Metastatic gastric cancer should be considered a disease treatable but not curable.

[Preliminary experience in treatment of locally advanced gastric adenocarcinoma with peri-operative chemotherapy]. / Esperienza preliminare di chemioterapia perioperatoria nel cancro gastrico localmente avanzato.

AIM: Gastric Cancer (GC) is a poor prognosis neoplasm and it is often diagnosed at advanced stage. Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy (NAC) may increase the possibility of complete surgical resection and improve Overall Survival (OS). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Since November 2006, six patients with gastric adenocarcinoma, diagnosed by endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasonography and total body 18FDG-PET-CT, were enrolled in a program of peri-operative chemotherapy, according to the following inclusion criteria: cT2N+M0 or cT3-4NxM0, age < 75 years, Karnofsky Performance Status > 60%, absence of hepatic, renal and bone marrow failures. The patients undergo three cycles of pre-operative and post-operative chemotherapy based on Epirubicine, Cisplatin, and 5-Fluorouracil (ECF) as MAGIC Trial proposed. Fifteen days after the end of pre-operative chemotherapy the patient undergoes endoscopic ultrasonography and total body 18FDG-PET-CT to evaluate the tumor response to treatment, and then he is addressed to surgery. Thirty days after surgery he starts the post-operative chemotherapy. RESULTS: All patients completed the pre-operative chemotherapy. Five patients underwent D2 subtotal gastrectomy and only one patient D1 total gastrectomy. No peri- and post-operative mortality and morbidity were observed. One month after surgery all patients started chemotherapy. During post-operative chemotherapy two patients developed subclavian vein thrombosis, one patient developed renal failure. CONCLUSIONS: Although surgical resection remains the key component in the treatment of GC, it is clear that improved outcome will depend on a multidisciplinary treatment. NAC is associated with appreciable toxicity and it may improve the OS, allowing the downstaging of the primary tumor and increasing its resecability, as shown by MAGIC trial.