UN NCCN guidelines
The US NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines: Hepatobiliary Tumor (2018.V1) was updated on February 15, 2018. The latest version of the guideline uses proton therapy as one of the standard treatments for head and neck cancer. National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines indicate that patients with inoperable hepatocellular carcinoma can receive large-scale photon or proton therapy, but it is recommended to receive treatment in an experienced cancer center.
Liver cancer mortality ranks second in the world for cancer deaths
According to the “Global Burden of Disease Study”, 830,000 people died of liver cancer in 2016, compared with 464,000 in 1990. This makes liver cancer the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The first is lung cancer. Primary liver cancer is the most common liver cancer in the world and can be attributed to heavy drinking and other lifestyle choices, but the most common cause is long-term infection with hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus. These viruses are a major public health challenge, affecting more than 325 million people worldwide.
Patients have access to limited liver cancer treatment
Once hepatocellular carcinoma (abbreviated as hepatocellular carcinoma) is diagnosed as advanced stage, portal vein tumor thrombus or distant metastasis is often associated with it, and the chance of surgery is lost. The prognosis of liver cancer patients is poor, and the 5-year survival rate is only about 12%. Lung cancer mortality and morbidity are the highest, but the reason why liver cancer mortality is close to lung cancer is not high morbidity, but limited treatment methods. Liver cancer is almost insensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs and few targeted drugs. Sorafenib has been monopolizing the liver cancer market for ten years. Once the patient loses the opportunity for surgery, only sorafenib is available and will soon become resistant At most, you can use radiotherapy to relieve symptoms, so the situation of liver cancer patients is very embarrassing. It was not until December last year that the treatment of liver cancer in China broke the current dominance of sorafenib. Bayer targeted anti-tumor drug Regofenib (Baiwango) was officially approved by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have been previously treated with sorafenib. It is not enough for patients with rapidly progressing liver cancer to only market two targeted drugs. So can there be other treatments for liver cancer patients?
Proton therapy breaks the current status of liver cancer treatment and brings new hope to patients
You may not have known this kind of radiotherapy technique. Its parenchymal therapy is a “high-match” form of radiotherapy. Due to the unique treatment principle of proton therapy, it will not have as many side effects as ordinary radiotherapy, and it is suitable for patients with liver cancer at any time. What kind of treatment principle is it?
What is proton therapy ?
A proton is a particle where a hydrogen atom loses an electron. Proton therapy is to use a cyclotron or synchrotron to accelerate the electron nucleus to a speed of light of about 70%. It penetrates into the body and reaches cancer cells at this extremely fast speed. At a specific location, the speed suddenly decreases and stops, forming a sharp dose peak at the end of the range, called the Bragg Peak, which releases the maximum energy and kills the cancer cells. Proton therapy can effectively protect surrounding normal tissues at the same time, with little side effects. For example, the heart and lungs around the liver are particularly important organs. Proton therapy can still effectively treat tumors while protecting the functions of these important organs or structures. The treatment will not have any impact, which is absolutely in conventional radiotherapy. impossible.
Liver cancer proton therapy is convenient and fast for patients without hospitalization
The proton therapy time can be as short as five minutes, but the setting time of the machine and laser beam takes about 30 minutes. Once a day, every Friday, usually 15-40 times a course of treatment. The benefits of proton therapy for immediate treatment of tumors may not be obvious, but the advantage will be obvious after a few years, especially for young patients, because proton therapy has little side effects and will not cause any harm to the body.
Successful sharing of proton therapy for 52-year-old liver cancer patients
The patient was diagnosed with liver cancer due to upper abdominal pain and was unable to undergo surgical treatment. Interventional treatment was given once, and the effect was not good. Consult the CancerFax for further treatment and recommend proton therapy based on the patient’s condition. The CancerFax collects all the patient’s medical records and submits them to well-known domestic experts. After multidisciplinary consultations, the patients can be protoned.
Proton therapy before the level of tumor size of about 10.93 * 11.16cm, proton therapy after one month of about 10.43 * 10.19cm; proton therapy before a volume of about 860.06cm3, proton tumor volume of about one month after treatment 702.69cm3, tumor shrinkage of about 157.37cm3 , The symptoms improved significantly. Three months later, the tumor is still shrinking. The patient has no other side effects and can live a normal life.
Who is suitable for proton therapy?
The application of proton therapy is very wide. In addition to liver cancer, proton therapy covers almost all solid tumors of the body (as shown below), such as lung cancer, brain cancer, ovarian cancer, etc. For inoperable patients, patients who are intolerant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and have no other treatment options, proton therapy brings hope to many patients with solid tumors. Due to the almost zero side effects, proton therapy will be of great concern. Expect proton therapy to shine in the cancer field.
CancerFax expert consultation to help you assess whether it is suitable for proton therapy
Cancer friends who need to choose radiotherapy can consult about radiotherapy through the CancerFax Network. CancerFax is a professional oncology patient service platform established by doctors. It is one of the domestic authoritative international medical service organizations. It maintains close consultation and referral cooperation with well-known hospitals at home and abroad, and conducts expert consultation based on the patient’s condition and economic situation. Recommend the most suitable treatment for patients.
