Successful multimodal therapy for an α-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer patient with simultaneous liver metastases.

α-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer (AFPGC) is considered to be a special type of stomach cancer, due its features of high malignancy, fast progression, easy transferral and a poor prognosis. No standard therapy is currently available for patients with AFPGC. In the present study, the case of a 59-year-old male diagnosed with AFPGC and simultaneous liver metastases is presented. The patient presented with abdominal bloating and multiple liver lesions were revealed upon imaging. During the course of treatment, the patient's serum AFP level increased to a maximum of 20,624.6 µg/l. The patient survived for 30 months and was ultimately treated with multimodal therapy, including surgery, chemotherapy, interventional therapy and molecular targeted therapy. Treatment with paclitaxel, irinotecan and TS-1, particularly sorafenib as a molecular targeted drug, are effective for such patients. The choice of chemotherapy regimen according to the Lauren classification and the use of oral sorafenib are likely to be novel and effective treatments for this type of stomach cancer. However, investigations should be performed to identify the gastric cancer patient population most receptive to sorafenib treatment. In addition, combined chemotherapy and molecular targeting treatment requires further study in order to determine if a synergistic effect is present. Further investigation in a large-sample study is required to confirm the validity of these results.