[R0 Resection by Distal Pancreatectomy with En Bloc Celiac Axis Resection after Down-Staging by FOLFIRINOX Therapy in a Case of Pancreas Cancer--Report of a Case].

The patient, a 55-year-old man, was diagnosed elsewhere as having cancer of the tail of the pancreas and was referred to our hospital. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed a remarkably large tumor, 90 mm in diameter, in the tail of the pancreas, with invasion of the adjacent spleen, stomach, left adrenal gland, diaphragm, and celiac artery; metastasis to the liver; and peritoneal dissemination. The serum levels of the tumor markers CEA and CA19-9 were elevated (21.2 ng/mL and 9,530 U/mL, respectively). Since surgery was not considered to be feasible in this condition, the patient was started on FOLFIRINOX therapy. Adverse events, including Grade 3 decreased neutrophil count, anorexia, diarrhea, and hyperkalemia occurred; however, the patient was able to receive 10 cycles of therapy with downward adjustments of the dosage. In response to the therapy, the tumor marker levels fell rapidly, and on CT, the tumor shrank to 40 mm in diameter; however, resection was still scheduled because positron emission tomography (PET)-CT revealed suspected remnants of the disease in the pancreatic tail. After preoperative transcatheter embolization of the common hepatic artery and the left gastric artery, distal pancreatectomy with en bloc celiac axis resection (DP-CAR) was performed. Intraoperative ultrasonography revealed no metastatic lesions in the liver. Histopathologically, the resected sites were found to be almost totally replaced with fibrous scar tissue, and only trace evidence of moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma components were seen in the pancreatic tail, gastric submucosa, and left adrenal gland. Therefore, R0 resection had been achieved. The patient remains alive, showing no signs of recurrence at 18 months after the initial treatment and 11 months after the tumor resection. The results in this case suggest that FOLFIRINOX therapy can increase the radical curability of pancreatic cancer via down-staging and eventually improve the prognosis.