[A case of non-curatively resected gastric cancer successfully treated over 3 years with biweekly paclitaxel therapy].

We report a case of non-curatively resected gastric cancer successfully treated over 3 years with biweekly administration of paclitaxel. A 69-year-old man underwent non-curative resection with distal gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer with remarkable lymph node metastasis on June 10, 2002. The metastatic lymph node (No. 8 a, 8 p and 12 a) linked up with the retroperitoneal node, making resection impossible. Postoperatively, he was initially treated with weekly administration of paclitaxel 100 mg/body (68 mg/m(2)) per week. However, due to grade 3 neutropenia in the first course, weekly administration was changed to biweekly administration with dose reduction to 60 mg/body (41 mg/m(2)), resulting in the continuation of paclitaxel therapy. Since then, no grade 3 or more severe adverse reactions have been observed. He has maintained NC for 3 years, and is still being treated on an outpatient basis at present. We believe that, in paclitaxel therapy for advanced gastric cancer, it is important for long-term survival to continue it perseveringly by dose reduction or change of schedule, when major adverse reactions are seen.