A 60-year-old woman, who was treated at a city hospital for stage 4 colorectal cancer, is disease-free eight months later, said doctors.
Madhavi Muralidharan visited several hospitals seeking relief for the cancer in the junction of the colon and rectum that had metastased to her liver as well.
She had nine lesions in her liver.
She had lost weight and appetite, and was unable to lead a normal life.
Her family consulted Thiagarajan Srinivasan, director of Institute of Liver Transplant and GI surgery at MGM Hospital, who suggested a single-stage surgery.
3D volumetry done
A team of radiologists did a 3D volumetry of the liver lesions.
It took them six hours to simulate the surgical removal of all the lesions, an exercise carried out to prevent missing any lesion, thus leading to liver failure later.
Post removal of lesions, she underwent biological tumour antibody therapy and cancer chemotherapy for six months. “We are happy to report that after a rigorous follow-up of eight months, the patient has no detectable tumour in her body, which was confirmed by PET CT scan,” Dr. Thiagarajan said.
He further said that if at a later stage lesions did reappear in the liver it would be treated similarly.
He recalled that in Japan, a person with 23 lesions had undergone eight surgeries over a period of 13 years.
“That patient is still alive. There is hope, especially for persons with colorectal cancers, we can prolong their life,” he added.
The patient regained weight and had resumed a normal, healthy life, Dr. Thiagarajan said.
Karthik Mathivanan, associate director, called for more awareness and recommended routine annual screening for people over 45 years of age. A consultant medical oncologist said close coordination among members of a multi-disciplinary team is extremely important to boost the chances of survival for patients.
