Abstract
A 74-year-old male was admitted to our hospital in August 2006 because of an exacerbation of the symptom of diabetes mellitus. Abdominal CT showed locally advanced cancer of the head of the pancreas with encasement of the superior mesenteric artery, suggesting that the lesion was unresectable. The patient was scheduled for treatment with gemcitabine at the standard dose of 1000 mg/m2 once a week for 3 consecutive weeks followed by a one week rest, but on day 7 of cycle 1, grade 3 of hematological toxicity was diagnosed, and the schedule was changed to biweekly administration at a dose of 1000 mg/m2. The biweekly low-dose gemcitabine regimen slightly reduced tumor size, and the regimen was continued for 12 months. This case suggests that this new biweekly regimen of gemcitabine can be used as a safe and effective first-line chemotherapy for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who are unable to tolerate the standard regimen of gemcitabine.
