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Vol.46 No.4 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Case Report -
A Case of Adenocarcinoma of the Lung with a Favorable Response to Retreatment with Gefitinib
Hideki Shibuya1, Tomoko Kutomi1, Yoko Sato1, Naoki Tashiro1, Kei Hara1, Tetsuya Hisada11Department of Respiratory Medicine, Tokyo Teishin Hospital, Japan
Background. Gefitinib showed response rate of 10-20% in chemorefractory non-small cell lung cancer cases, while even in patients who responded, tumor recurrence can appear during the therapy. There are only a few reports about patients successfully retreated with gefitinib. Here we report a case of adenocarcinoma of the lung with a favorable response to retreatment with gefitinib. Case. A 37-year-old woman presented with left chest pain, cough, and dyspnea on exertion in February 2004. Her chest radiograph and CT revealed multiple nodular shadows throughout both lung fields. Adenocarcinoma of the lung was diagnosed (cT1N2M1). Because of progressive disease after two courses of chemotherapy with cisplatin and gemcitabine, she was given gefitinib therapy in May 2004 and a partial response was achieved. However, gefitinib was discontinued after 6 months of treatment, due to regrowth of the tumors. The tumors continued to grow even after further chemotherapy (four courses of cisplatin and docetaxel, followed by three courses of carboplatin and paclitaxel). She was retreated with gefitinib in June 2005, with a partial response once again. Conclusion. Retreatment with gefitinib may yield good results in patients with non-small cell lung cancer who are refractory to chemotherapy.
key words: Adenocarcinoma of the lung, Gefitinib, Resistance, Resensitization, Retreatment
Received: March 2, 2006
Accepted: April 26, 2006
JJLC 46 (4): 357-362, 2006
