[Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for elderly advanced gastric cancer: a case report of MTX/5-FU sequential therapy followed by radical gastrectomy].

A 70-year-old-male was diagnosed as having gastric cancer (Borr. 2, 78 mm in size on the body region; mod. dif. adenocarcinoma). CT scan revealed direct invasion of the liver. A course of MTX/5-FU sequential therapy was started (MTX 100 mg/m2, 5-FU 500 mg/m2, i.v., weekly; interval, 2 hours) on March 23, 1992. The gastric tumor showed 67% reduction on week 8 and 86% on week 10. The liver invasion had almost disappeared by CT scan (total doses, MTX 1,040 mg, 5-FU 6,750 mg). On June 25, the tumor was completely resected by radical.gastrectomy. The pathological specimen showed a "submucosal carcinoma" (10 mm in size, Stage I). Twenty-two months after the operation, the patient is alive and in good health. No cancer recurrence has been found without post-operative chemotherapy.