[Induction chemotherapy based on histoculture drug response assay for a patient with advanced thymic cancer--a case report].

Histoculture drug response assay (HDRA) was applied to a biopsy specimen of advanced thymic cancer from a 68 years-old male patient. HDRA revealed that the tumor was not sensitive to CDDP but highly sensitive to 5-FU, ADM and MMC, which were administered as induction chemotherapy. The tumor regressed to 14% of the pretreatment size and was able to be completely resected with right and left brachiocephalic veins, superior vena cava, pericardium, right phrenic nerve and a part of right lung. Histologically, only a few small cancer nests remained in the fibrous tissue. The patient is alive and disease free 32 months after surgery. This result suggests that HDRA is useful to select anticancer agents which are sensitive to a rare kind of carcinoma such as thymic cancer.