A Case of Advanced Upper Gingival Cancer Successfully Treated With Oral Uracil-Tegafur (UFT) Alone
Kenta Kawahara DDS, PhD, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
Hideki Nakayama , Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
Masatoshi Hirayama DDS, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
Akiyuki Hirosue DDS, PhD, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
Akimitsu Hiraki , Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
Tetsuro Ikebe DDS, PhD, Dept. Oral & Maxillofacial surgery, Fukuoka Dental College, Fukuoka, Japan
Masanori Shinohara , Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
The prognosis of locoregionally advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is poor. Although aggressive treatment for advanced OSCC typically includes both surgery and radiation, there are some cases in which the treatment method must be changed due to the patient’s general condition, the patient’s desire, or both. Oral uracil-tegafur (UFT) is an oral anticancer agent comprised of uracil and tegafur in a 4:1 molar ratio, and was associated with a survival advantage in the adjuvant setting. UFT is considered to show clinical effectiveness in head and neck cancer.
We herein report a case of 92-year-old man with advanced upper gingival cancer and nodal metastasis who was successfully treated with oral Tegafur-Uracil (UFT) alone. The patient was clinically diagnosed with stage IV (T4N2cM0). Since he was elderly patient and considered his quality of life, chemotherapy with UFT was selected and administered on an outpatient basis. The treatment regimen consisted of UFT daily administration. A year after the chemotherapy, the primary oral region showed no sign of cancer, meanwhile the metastasis lymph completely disappeared. There were no significant side effects during the chemotherapy. At present (2 years after the first visit), no sign of cancer has been identified in radiological follow-up examinations. The present result demonstrates that this treatment with UFT alone may be useful therapeutic option for advanced OSCC in some situations.
