Pathologic complete response after palliative 3rd line chemotherapy with capecitabine alone in metastatic colorectal cancer

We report the case of a 46-year-old female who showed excellent clinical outcomes after palliative 3rd line capecitabine monotherapy followed by 2nd liver metastasectomy. She had been diagnosed with colon cancer with liver metastasis and initially treated with synchronous colectomy and liver metastasectomy. But she experienced immediate relapse in liver and received palliative 1st line FOLFIRI and 2nd line FOLFOX, both of which failed to show responses. Capecitabine alone as palliative 3rd line treatment did show clinical response in this patient, indeed, and she received 2nd liver metastasectomy which revealed pathologic complete response. In this report, we intended to emphasize that response to chemotherapy could be an important factor in patients who are potential candidates for metastasectomy and that catching the very moment of repeated metastasectomy is in the state of the art.Lee J, 2008, CANCER CHEMOTH PHARM, V62, P77, DOI 10.1007/s00280-007-0577-6HONDA J, 2008, J MED INVEST, V55, P54SOONG R, 2008, ANN ONCOLAloysius MM, 2007, VIRCHOWS ARCH, V451, P943, DOI 10.1007/s00428-007-0497-1Barone C, 2007, BRIT J CANCER, V97, P1035, DOI 10.1038/sj.bjc.6603988Min BS, 2007, ONKOLOGIE, V30, P637, DOI 10.1159/000109957NORDLINGER B, 2007, J CLIN ONCOL S, V25, pLBA5Mentha G, 2006, BRIT J SURG, V93, P872, DOI 10.1002/bjs.5346Adam R, 2004, ANN SURG, V240, P1052, DOI 10.1097/01.sla.0000145964.08365.01Lee JJ, 2004, JPN J CLIN ONCOL, V34, P400Hurwitz H, 2004, NEW ENGL J MED, V350, P2335Hoff PM, 2004, J CLIN ONCOL, V22, P2078, DOI 10.1200/JCO.2004.05.072Levitz JS, 2004, J CLIN ONCOL, V22, P1518, DOI 10.1200/JCO.2004.05.126ADAM R, 2004, ANN SURG, V240, P1061Adam R, 2004, ANN ONCOL, V15, P103, DOI 10.1093/annonc/mdh912Petrowsky H, 2002, ANN SURG, V235, P863Headrick JR, 2001, ANN THORAC SURG, V71, P975Rodgers MS, 2000, BRIT J SURG, V87, P1142de Gramont A, 2000, J CLIN ONCOL, V18, P2938Azoulay D, 2000, ANN SURG, V231, P480Douillard JY, 2000, LANCET, V355, P1041Van Cutsem E, 2000, J CLIN ONCOL, V18, P1337Fong Y, 1999, ANN SURG, V230, P309Iwatsuki S, 1999, J AM COLL SURGEONS, V189, P291FONG Y, 1999, ANN SURG, V230, P318Elias D, 1998, J SURG ONCOL, V67, P190Fong YM, 1997, J CLIN ONCOL, V15, P938SCHEELE J, 1990, BRIT J SURG, V77, P1241EKBERG H, 1986, BRIT J SURG, V73, P727