title: Complete response of 7 years' duration after chemoradiotherapy followed by gefitinib in a patient with intramedullary spinal cord metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis is a rare but serious complication which causes rapid progression of neurological deficits. Here we report a 35-year-old man presenting with increasing leg pain and gait disturbance, 8 months after surgery for lung adenocarcinoma. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intramedullary tumor at the Th7/8 level. Radiotherapy at 35 Gy resulted in transient symptomatic improvement, but during chemotherapy with vinorelbine and cisplatin, symptoms worsened again. Gefitinib was then administered; the patient improved after 2 weeks and has now maintained a complete response for 7 years.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Surgery, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan;
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Yujiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takai
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Keigo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takagi
authors.forename: Kazutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Isobe
authors.forename: Chikako
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Kazutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamaki
authors.forename: Fumitomo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Otsuka
keywords: EGFR; Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis; gefitinib; lung cancer; magnetic resonance imaging; positron-emission tomography