A Case of Pancreatic Cancer With Liver Metastasis Which Responded to Chemotherapy

A case of pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis is reported, in which chemotherapy had a marked effect, with the responses clearly documented. The patient was a 59-year-old male who experienced epigastric pain in February 1985, upper gastrointestinal X-ray examination revealing extragastric compression by the pancreas. He visited the National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, in April 1985 and the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer with liver metastasis was made using the imaging procedures of ultrasonography, computed tomograph scanning and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography as well as by biochemical and serological tests. At the time a 5 cm tumor was palpable in the middle upper abdomen. The patient was treated with Cis-diaminedichloro platinum, tegafur, and 5-fluorouracil, successively, and the abdominal tumor gradually diminished, finally becoming impalpable. The response was evaluated as one of partial responses (PR) by ultrasonography, and the improvement substantiated by computed tomography and tumor markers.