We report here a case of
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with multiple lung
metastases, which were disappeared by treatment of
OK-432. The patient was a 65-year-old man and was diagnosed in 1986 with a small (17 x 11 mm) HCC in the anterior-superior segment of the liver. A part of the right hepatic lobe including the
tumor was surgically removed, and transarterial
injections of
adriamycin (10 mg/week) and
subcutaneous injections of
OK-432 (10 KE/week) were given. Two and a half years later, recurrence of HCC in the liver and its invasion to vena cava inferior (IVC) were found.
OK-432 administration was then stopped and percutaneous
ethanol injection
therapy (PEIT) was performed 10 times. Six months later, the PEIT was effective and the liver
tumor with IVC invasion diminished. However, multiple lung
metastases were visible on roentgenograms of the chest, and serum alphafetoprotein (AFP) concentration increased to 50,000 ng/ml. The
OK-432 treatment resumed. After 6 months of
OK-432 treatment, the multiple lung
metastases were disappeared and the serum AFP level decreased to 100 ng/ml. At present, the patient is surviving without any sign of recurrence in either the liver or the lung. The
clinical course of this case suggests that
OK-432 might have effectively treated lung
metastases of HCC, although the exact mechanisms are at present unclear.