Metastatic pancreatic cancer with complete response to FOLFIRINOX treatment

Abstract

A 59-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain associated with nausea and night sweats. A large mass was found in the pancreatic tail and innumerable liver lesions were identified. Ultrasound-guided biopsy of a liver nodule confirmed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma consistent with a pancreatobiliary primary. On FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy, subsequent CT scans showed shrinkage of the pancreatic mass and liver metastases. Her cancer antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) normalised after 11 months. Oxaliplatin was discontinued due to peripheral neuropathy but she completed 37 cycles of FOLFIRI during which her pancreatic mass disappeared, liver lesions decreased in size and were subsequently deemed to be scar tissue by the radiologist. After 4 years of treatment, the patient agreed to a break from chemotherapy. Eighteen months afterwards, an MRI abdomen continues to demonstrate no visible pancreatic mass and the two remaining liver lesions, believed to be scar tissue, remain stable. Her CA 19-9 level remains normal. This appears to be a complete response to FOLFIRINOX/FOLFIRI chemotherapy in a patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer.