A case of inoperable advanced gallbladder cancer that has maintained stable disease status for a long period with gemcitabine and cisplatin therapy

: We report a case of inoperable advanced gallbladder cancer that responded to treatment with gemcitabine (GEM) and cisplatin (CDDP) therapy. A 54-year-old woman was diagnosed in a nearby hospital with inoperable advanced gallbladder cancer (T4, N1, H0, P1, M(-): Stage IV b) with direct invasion to the liver. Therefore, chemotherapy was performed by TS-1. Two months later, however, the disease was found to have progressed, and she was referred to our hospital for further therapy. Combined chemotherapy with GEM 1,000 mg/m2 on days 1, 8 and 15 and CDDP 50 mg/m2 on day 1 was performed starting in June 2002. No side effects were observed after the first administration during hospitalization, so the treatment was continued on an outpatient basis. Her serum CEA and CA19-9 levels thereafter gradually decreased, and the disease stabilized for over a year. She has been able to maintain good quality of life without any severe adverse effects.