A case of advanced rectal cancer with unresectable liver metastasis for which chemotherapy was markedly effective

: We report a case of advanced rectal cancer accompanied by unresectable liver metastasis in which remission has been achieved for 7 years. The patient was a 64-year-old woman, and her chief complaints were a feeling of abdominal distention and melena. After low anterior resection (D3), oral administration of 600 mg/day of UFT-E and chemotherapy against the liver metastasis by hepatic arterial injection via a reservoir were started. Since the arterial injection via a reservoir became impossible due to infection, her clinical course was observed solely with oral administration of UFT-E. As a result, complete remission was achieved 7 months postoperatively, and the patient is still alive in good health without recurrences at present (7 years postoperatively). The reason why a favorable outcome has been achieved is probably that, although the initial operation resulted is non-curative resection, measures sufficient to enable the patient to lead an ordinary social life were taken at the beginning, and efforts to achieve a long-term survival were made while respecting the quality of life of the patient so that the patient would be able to coexist with the cancer.