[A gastric cancer patient with marked para-aortic lymph node metastasis surviving more than 10 years after aggressive operation and repeated EAP chemotherapy].

The high incidence of side effects for EAP (etoposide, adriamycin, cisplatin) combination chemotherapy led to the recent decline in its use. However, we report herein the long-term disease-free survival of a woman following postoperative EAP therapy. A 57-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of general malaise. X-ray and endoscopic examination revealed a Borrmann type 3 gastric cancer. Preoperative computed tomography and ultrasonography revealed multiple para-aortic lymph node swellings. The patient simultaneously underwent subtotal gastrectomy and splenectomy, and complete para-aortic lymph node dissection. Histopathological tests revealed that the tumor was a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma with 35 metastatic para-aortic lymph nodes. The patient was treated with 2 cycles of EAP therapy. After discharge, swelling in one para-aortic lymph node was detected. Following three subsequent cycles of EAP therapy, the swollen lymph node disappeared and the patient has remained disease free for 10 years. This case illustrates that aggressive surgery followed by repeated courses of EAP therapy can produce excellent clinical outcomes.