[A case of rectal carcinoma that disappeared following preoperative chemotherapy with an FT-207 suppository--confirmed by a thorough histologic examination of the resected specimen].

Presented is the case of a patient, a 56-year-old female, who had complained of bloody stool and constipation. A barium enema and endoscopic examination revealed a tumor (Type 2) with a crater surrounded by a thick embankment, extending from the anterior wall to the left wall of the lower rectum. Biopsy specimens of the tumor disclosed a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. A FT-207 suppository (1500 mg/day) was administered preoperatively for 50 days (total dose 75 g). On February 16, 1987, the patient underwent an abdominoperineal excision. The resected specimen took on the appearance of a chronic ulcer with an irregular depression, measuring 2.0 x 3.0 cm in size, in the lower rectum. The histology of the lesion also indicated a chronic ulcer, the base of which consisted of fibrosis covered with regenerative mucosa. No cancer cells or nests were demonstrated even serial tissue sections. As far as the rectal carcinoma is concerned, there has been no reported case of its disappearance by preoperative chemotherapy. The above results suggest that preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy can be quite effective against an advanced rectal carcinoma.