title: Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with distant metastases, successfully treated by a combination therapy of alpha-interferon and oral tegafur/uracil.
abstract: We report a case of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), successfully treated by a combination therapy of alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) and tegafur/uracil (UFT). A 44-year-old Japanese man who underwent a partial hepatectomy for HCC developed tumor recurrence in the liver 10 months after surgery. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TAE) was performed twice within 7 months, but was ineffective. Later, multiple metastatic lesions appeared in the liver, lung and spine. Following the third TAE, a combination therapy of IFN-alpha (10 x 10(6) units, i.m., t.i.w.) and UFT (300 mg, p.o.d.) was started. The treatment resulted in a fall in serum PIVKA-II (protein induced by vitamin K antagonism) levels from 906 mAU to normal levels and a complete resolution of all lung nodules within 6 months. At the latest follow up 24 months after the initiation of combination treatment, the patient was working full-time and showed no evidence of tumor relapse. A combination therapy of IFN-alpha and UFT may be promising for the treatment of advanced HCC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Clinical Oncology, Osaka University Medical School, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Umeshita
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sakon
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagano
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dono
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamori
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gotoh
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monden
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000328:Adult; D000792:Angiography; D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000556:secondary*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D005641:Tegafur / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014498:Uracil / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D005641:Tegafur; D014498:Uracil