Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2024 December, 264(4)

Confirmed Pathological Response to Nivolumab Combined with Chemotherapy for Advanced Gastric Cancer with Left Subclavicular Lymph Node Metastasis: A Case Report

Naoto Morikawa,¹ Yuko Sato,^1,2 Noriyuki Iwama,³ Fumie Kubota-Nakayama,³ Yuta Onaka,⁴ Yutaka Kondo,⁵ Fumiyoshi Kumagai⁶ and Kazuo Motoyama⁷

¹Department of Medical Oncology, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
²Department Medical House Call, Soshukai Okabe Clinic Sendai, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
³Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁴Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁵Department of Gastroenterology, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁶Department of Pharmacy, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
⁷Department of Surgery, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

We report the case of a 44-year-old male with advanced gastric cancer with distal lymph node metastasis who achieved a pathological complete response to chemotherapy combined with nivolumab. After five months of treatment, the patient underwent total gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection, and histological examination revealed the absence of malignant cells not only in the resected specimen but also in the harvested lymph nodes. At present, more than 1 year after the initial surgery, the patient is still alive without any recurrence. This case highlights the potential of chemotherapy combined with nivolumab to induce a complete response in advanced gastric cancer patients.

Key words —— advanced gastric cancer; conversion chemotherapy; curative resection; nivolumab; pathological complete response

© 2024 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2024 December, 264(4), 215-219.

Correspondence: Naoto Morikawa, Medical Oncology Department, Tohoku Rosai Hospital, 4-3-21 Dainohara, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8563, Japan.

e-mail: oncology.morikawa@gmail.com