Long-term clinical response of advanced lung adenocarcinoma to maintenance treatment of gemcitabine: A case report.

RATIONALE

Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an aggressive malignancy that generally leads to poor outcomes, with <5% long-term survival at 5 years; however, several researches have shown improvements in the progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) on the maintenance therapy after the first-line chemotherapy. we report a case of metastatic NSCLC patient treated with maintenance therapy of gemcitabine with brilliant results.

PATIENT CONCERNS

Clinical data and treatment of a 68-year-old man with NSCLC are summarized. The Ethics Committee of People's hospital of Leshan, approved this study.

DIAGNOSIS

Lung adenocarcinoma metastasized to the mediastinal lymph node, cervical lymph node, and adrenal gland, without epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation.

INTERVENTIONS

Continued treatment with gemcitabine alone following the 6 cycles of cisplatin-gemcitabine chemotherapy, prolonging the interval of chemotherapy when he could not tolerate the toxicity of the drug.

OUTCOMES

Partial response of the disease for 4.5 years and significant clinical benefit.

LESSONS

This case shows that patients will benefit from the maintenance therapy, and gemcitabine may be a good choice.