[Successful treatment of metastatic bone cancer from colon with combination treatment (radiation and 5-FU); a case report]

An 80-year-old woman with metastatic bone cancer from ascending colon showed a remarkable response to combination therapy of 5-FU and radiation. 5-FU (500 mg/day) was administered daily through intra-arterial catheter. The total dose of 5-FU was 15.5 g. Radiotherapy was performed (total radiation dose, 45 Gy). After therapy, metastatic lesions were remarkably reduced in size according to various imaging techniques, and the serum CEA level dramatically decreased from 249 ng/ml to 5.2 ng/ml. Other tumor markers such as CA19-9, NSE, and CYFRA were also dramatically decreased. Various tumor-related symptoms, especially the pain caused by tumor invasion, were also decreased. Drug toxicity caused slight nausea and leucopenia. These results suggested that the combination therapy of 5-FU and radiation is useful for the pain caused by metastatic bone cancer.