Radical resection of an initially unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma after chemotherapy with using gemcitabine, cisplatin, and S-1: report of a case

BACKGROUND: Metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC) has poor prognosis. Recently, patients with metastatic BTC who respond well to systemic chemotherapy can be treated by radical resection or “conversion surgery.” CASE PRESENTATION: A 67-year-old male patient was diagnosed with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma with para-aortic metastases [cT2N1M1, stage IVB]. He was enrolled in our phase II study for unresectable BTC consisting of cisplatin (25 mg/m(2) i.v. for 30 min) followed by gemcitabine (1000 mg/m(2) i.v. for 30 min) on days 1 and 8 and oral S-1 on alternate days. After 8 courses of this regimen, marked regression of para-aortic lymph metastases was achieved, and we performed extended left hepatic lobectomy with the caudate lobe, concomitant portal vein resection, and lymph node dissection including the para-aortic region. The patient made a satisfactory recovery and was discharged on postoperative day 25. Histopathological examination revealed more than 50% of the tumor area replaced with fibrosis, and curative resection was achieved (ypT2N1M1, stage IVB, Evans criteria IIb). The patient received adjuvant chemotherapy using S-1 for 12 months and remains well with no evidence of tumor recurrence as of 48 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: We herein report a successfully treated case of advanced BTC with para-aortic lymph node metastases by conversion surgery after combination chemotherapy using gemcitabine, cisplatin, and S-1.