科学文献
A cancer diagnosis is undoubtedly a heavy blow to anyone, and it is easy to make people fall into deep panic and despair. Under this psychological pressure, patients and their families often seek various treatment methods in a panic, which may be disturbed by traditional concepts and various information, thus falling into treatment misunderstandings. These misunderstandings may not only delay the best treatment time for patients, but are also likely to lead to non-standard treatment, ultimately causing double losses in manpower and financial resources.
After diagnosis, remove it quickly, otherwise the tumor will grow bigger and bigger
It doesn't matter whether you treat advanced cancer or not. Just give up.
The side effects of chemotherapy are too severe, so you should never use it?
....
Malignant tumors have become a serious threat to human health and pose a great challenge to the global population. According to the latest statistics on China's cancer burden released in 2023, although China's cancer incidence rate is similar to the world average and lower than that of high-income countries, its mortality rate is much higher than the global average, and the number of cancer deaths ranks first in the world. This grim reality shows that more and more people around us are suffering from cancer.
In the face of this challenge, patients diagnosed with cancer and their families need to get out of misunderstandings, seek medical help with a scientific attitude, and receive standardized treatment. So, how can we win the battle against cancer? This requires us to be rigorous, steady, and rational, follow the laws of medicine, work closely with professional doctors, and jointly develop personalized treatment plans to ensure the scientificity and effectiveness of the treatment. At the same time, we must also pay attention to cancer prevention, raise the health awareness of the whole people, jointly build an anti-cancer defense line, and contribute to the health and well-being of mankind.
Myth 1: One-size-fits-all treatment immediately after cancer diagnosis
Mr. M suffered from early-stage gastric cancer and immediately sought surgical treatment from a local expert. Unfortunately, despite the surgery, the disease recurred six months later. For this reason, Mr. M had to go to Beijing to seek a higher level of treatment. After reviewing his postoperative pathology report, the Beijing doctor found that the surgical margin was positive, indicating that the initial surgery did not completely remove the lesion. According to current medical standards, Mr. M should first receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy to shrink the tumor, and then undergo radical surgery in order to achieve the effect of "clinical cure." Unfortunately, due to the irregular initial treatment, Mr. M's condition rapidly deteriorated to the late stage.
Mr. M's experience warns us that it is a common misunderstanding for patients to seek treatment out of panic after being diagnosed with cancer. This hasty attitude often leads to non-standard treatment, which in turn increases the risk of postoperative recurrence. From originally having a chance to be "cured" to having to rely on systemic treatment to prolong life, the patient's quality of life is seriously affected.
Therefore, when facing a cancer diagnosis, patients should remain calm, fully understand their condition, and seek expert advice from authoritative oncology hospitals. Choosing the right hospital and expert is the first and most important step in anti-cancer treatment. For example, the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has an outstanding reputation in cancer treatment, especially in lung cancer treatment; Peking University Cancer Hospital enjoys a high reputation in gastrointestinal tumor treatment; Peking University People's Hospital has expertise in blood cancer treatment; and Union Hospital is quite strong in gynecological tumor treatment. Patients should choose the right hospital and expert according to their own condition to ensure the standardization and effectiveness of treatment.
Why should we choose an authoritative oncology hospital? The main reasons are as follows:
§Authoritative oncology hospitals have strong pathology departments, which are the gold standard for diagnosis and the cornerstone of all correct treatments.
§The expert team of the authoritative oncology hospital is experienced and has strong adaptability, and can better deal with various emergencies of cancer patients.
§Authoritative oncology hospitals are in sync with international standards and have updated information and new experiences in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
§Authoritative cancer hospitals conduct research on new drugs and technologies in sync with international standards, providing cancer patients with more treatment opportunities.
Myth 2: Advanced cancer cannot be cured, so give up treatment
60-year-old Wang is a chef with a long history of smoking. He was eventually diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Facing his elderly mother and school-age son, he did not want his illness to bring a heavy burden to his family. Since the traditional concept of advanced cancer is hopeless to be cured, Wang chose to prolong his life at home with traditional Chinese medicine.
Ten years ago, for most patients, a diagnosis of advanced cancer was almost equivalent to a "death sentence," heralding the end of life. Most patients usually died within 3 to 6 months, and rarely more than a year.
However, in recent years, significant progress has been made in the field of cancer treatment. The continuous emergence of specific drugs and forward-looking therapies, such as the successful development of pan-cancer targeted drugs, immunotherapy and cancer vaccines, has brought new hope to patients with advanced cancer. These treatments have not only changed the traditional concept of cancer treatment, but also made it possible to control cancer and survive with tumors for a long time. Some patients can even become super survivors who have been cancer-free for more than 10 years. Therefore, advanced cancer is not equivalent to a death sentence.
Advanced lung cancer patient survives for 11 years! Chemotherapy + targeted therapy creates a survival miracle
In 2010, Ms. M was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. At that time, the doctor told her that most patients with advanced lung cancer had an average survival of only more than one year... What no one expected was that Ms. M survived for 5 years with chemotherapy, and then used PD-1 and chemotherapy, and survived for another 5 years! After the disease progressed, Ms. M underwent genetic testing and was fortunately found to have ROS1 fusion. After receiving treatment with the new targeted drug entrectinib, the lesions almost completely disappeared. As of the publication of this miraculous case, Ms. M has been receiving entrectinib for more than 20 months, nearly 2 years, and she has become a "super" survivor who has fought cancer for 11 years!
(Note: To protect the privacy of patients, pseudonyms are used in this article, and the condition and treatment process are slightly abridged. If you want to view the original literature, please click the link at the end of the article.)
The world's first TIL therapy for solid tumors has been launched on the market, and some patients have been cancer-free for 10 years!
On February 16, the new "king" of immunotherapy that all cancer patients have been looking forward to, the world's first TIL therapy - lifileucel (LN-144) was approved for marketing. This therapy has opened a new era for the treatment of solid tumors and is of milestone significance! Original link: Milestone! The world's first solid tumor TIL therapy lifileucel is launched! Many advanced patients have been in complete remission for more than 10 years after treatment , creating a survival miracle!
In 2011, when PET-CT showed scary black spots on her liver and pancreas, Jamie knew her melanoma had spread throughout her body and reached the advanced stage. The doctor said her five-year survival rate was only 14%... Fortunately, after receiving TIL therapy, all of her liver, pancreas and more than 40 subcutaneous tumors disappeared, and she achieved complete remission! 2013-2023, Jamie has been cancer-free for 10 years!
Cimavax lung cancer vaccine is expected to prolong survival and prevent recurrence!
CIMAvax-EGF, a lung cancer vaccine , is the world's first registered therapeutic vaccine for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, which was successfully independently developed by the Cuban Center for Molecular Immunology after 25 years and with the efforts of the first generation of scientists. It was originally developed independently under the pressure of the comprehensive medical blockade of the United States, and self-sufficiency was enough. Unexpectedly, it caused a sensation around the world as soon as it came out. In April 2023, the authoritative oncology journal Cancer published the latest real-world research data on lung cancer vaccines as maintenance treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, which caused a sensation! CIMAvax-EGF, a lung cancer vaccine, is an immunotherapy that can deplete cancer cell EGF. It is safe and effective in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and significantly prolongs the survival of patients.
The good news is that domestic patients can now apply for relevant vaccines from medical institutions in China, Japan or Cuba through the Medical Department of the Global Oncology Physicians Network (400-666-7998), and cooperate with standard treatment to prolong survival and improve quality of life!
Currently, cancer vaccines are one of the hottest research directions in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Hundreds of research teams around the world are organizing research. I believe that these new personalized immunotherapies will eventually become a new hope for humans to conquer cancer! Related reading: 4 major cancer vaccines delivered a "full score" answer sheet in 2022! Advanced cancer achieves lasting remission
Myth 3: Chemotherapy has too many side effects, so don’t use it
Doctor, can I not have chemotherapy? The side effects are too great and my body can’t take it.
There are a lot of rumors about chemotherapy:
Chemotherapy kills one thousand enemies but harms eight hundred of its own. Cancer patients die from chemotherapy, not from the cancer itself. The side effects of chemotherapy are extremely painful and make people die faster ...
Some patients are deeply influenced by these misconceptions and develop an extremely strong resistance to chemotherapy. They even give up modern medicine chemotherapy and choose non-mainstream therapies, which ultimately leads to the loss of both their lives and their money. Currently, chemotherapy drugs for cancer have been updated. With the widespread use of third-generation chemotherapy drugs, the efficacy of drugs is increasing, side effects are decreasing, and the treatment effect of cancer has also been greatly improved. Even if patients have brain metastases or bone metastases, there are corresponding drugs for treatment. Among the various cancer treatment technologies today, chemotherapy can be said to be the cornerstone of all treatments. Using chemotherapy in different ways at different times can achieve different therapeutic effects:
Shrinking the tumor before surgery or radiation therapy, called neoadjuvant chemotherapy;
After surgery or radiation therapy, to kill any remaining cancer cells in the body. This is called adjuvant chemotherapy.
As the sole treatment for cancers of the blood or lymphatic system, such as leukemia and lymphoma;
Cancer that has come back after treatment;
Cancer that has spread to other parts of the body is called metastatic cancer.
Therefore, for most tumors, chemotherapy alone cannot defeat cancer, and it needs to be combined with other treatments, such as surgery, radiotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, to achieve the best therapeutic effect.
How to be a smart cancer patient?
Some people say that "99% of cancer patients do not die from the disease, but from ignorance, fear and blind response to cancer!" So how can we be smart cancer patients in order to win the game against our deadly opponent? How should we defeat it?
1. Don’t blindly make an appointment with a big expert. Many patients who have just been diagnosed with cancer by imaging in their local area rush to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to make an appointment with a big expert. After arriving, they find that the examination is not sufficient and they need to make up for it. After the supplementary examination, they can’t make an appointment again. Therefore, the premise of finding a suitable expert is that you have all the test results. If you want to know more about the expert information, consultation time, etc., you can make an appointment with an authoritative expert through the Medical Department of the Global Oncology Doctor Network ( 400-666-7998).
2. Learn to organize your own information. Experts generally look at the entire imaging process, the changes in the tumor under each treatment plan, and then make judgments based on the comprehensive situation of tumor marks, pathology, and genes. Many patients have been treated for several years and have a lot of various examination data. It is best to organize a note by yourself and write down the treatment process concisely. Arrange all imaging films and examination reports according to time.
3. Understand the latest international anti-cancer treatments. Cancer treatment has become more and more personalized. In addition to clinical standard surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other standard treatment options, sometimes doctors will use multiple therapies for combined adjuvant treatment to achieve the best results. The emergence of some new international anti-cancer technologies, such as electric field therapy, proton therapy, and regulation of intestinal flora can cooperate with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy to help prevent cancer recurrence and prolong survival. For detailed information on these therapies, you can directly consult the medical department or search previous articles.
Related reading: Top 10 Breakthroughs in Cancer Treatment! There is always a treatment that brings hope!
4. Rebuild your immunity.
The immune function of cancer patients is in an abnormal state, and surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy will cause certain damage to the body's immune function. After clinical treatment, adjusting the immune function as soon as possible is the top priority to prevent recurrence and metastasis.
For patients with low or abnormal immune function, clinicians will recommend injections of thymosin drugs, interferon, cell immune infusions to restore immune identification and immune killing functions, etc.
01Immunomodulators
Immunomodulators are non-specific immunotherapies that help the immune system fight bacteria, viruses and cancer cells, including thymosin, interferon and interleukin. People who need to improve their immunity will be injected with immunomodulators. For example, medical staff who go to the front line to fight the epidemic are injected with thymosin to improve their immunity; clinicians will give thymosin or interferon, interleukin and other immunomodulators after chemotherapy to enhance the immunity of cancer patients. Thymosin is one of the most commonly used immunomodulators in clinical practice.
02Adoptive cell transfer
Adoptive immune cell therapy technology is to collect the body's own immune cells, culture them in vitro, increase their number by thousands of times, enhance their targeted killing function, and then return them to the patient's body to kill pathogens, cancer cells, and mutated cells in the blood and tissues. For example, the clinical adjuvant therapy of immune cells NK , DC, and T cells has undergone a large number of clinical studies.
Four new cancer immunotherapies are expected to treat multiple cancers
A famous American doctor always tells every patient: " The most important factor in whether this disease can be cured is that you believe it can be cured. "
I hope that after every patient has experienced a dialogue with the god of death, their understanding of life will become more objective and transparent, and their life will become richer and calmer. Only by living every day with a positive and optimistic attitude of " living towards death " and strengthening your confidence can you defeat cancer!
Reference: Chinese Journal of Oncology , 2023,45(3): 212-220. DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn112152-20220922-00647
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(23)00211-6/fulltext#sec1