Early Relapse of Unresectable Gallbladder Cancer after Discontinuation of Gemcitabine Monotherapy Administered for 5 Years in a Patient Who Had Complete Response to the Treatment

• Main Authors: Koichi Suyama, Masafumi Ikeda, Eiichiro Suzuki, Motohiro Kojima, Shuichi Mitsunaga, Satoshi Shimizu, Izumi Ohno, Hideaki Takahashi, Hiroyuki Okuyama, Akiko Kuwahara, Takuji Okusaka, Junji Furuse
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Karger Publishers 2013-10-01
• Series: Case Reports in Oncology
• Subjects: Gemcitabine; Chemotherapy; Complete response; Early relapse; Gallbladder cancer
• Online Access: http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/356080

The tumor shrinkage effect of gemcitabine is considered to be limited in cases of advanced gallbladder cancer, and there are few reports of complete response to gemcitabine therapy in patients with this cancer. Therefore, the treatment continuation strategy in these patients, after a complete response has been achieved, still remains to be established. Here, we present the case of a 77-year-old patient with unresectable gallbladder cancer, who after showing complete response to gemcitabine monotherapy administered for 5 years, showed early relapse within only 11 months of discontinuation of the drug. Thus, it is necessary to establish a suitable treatment continuation strategy for patients who show complete response to gemcitabine treatment.