The risk of lung cancer recurrence after surgery is as high as 70%? Doctor: Adding "1 treatment" before surgery is expected to prolong survival time
One person dies from lung cancer every hour! Adding “1 treatment” is expected to extend survival period
Lung cancer kills more than 10,000 people every year, which means one person dies from it every hour. It is a health crisis that the public cannot be cautious about. About 30% of patients are diagnosed at an early stage and can be treated with surgery; however, according to statistics, even after complete resection, the postoperative recurrence rate of early-stage lung cancer is still about 40-70%, indicating that there is still much room for improvement in existing treatment methods.
In recent years, preoperative adjuvant treatment has begun to be used clinically to increase the surgical cure rate. Dr. Wang Jinzhou, director of the Taiwan Lung Cancer Society, deputy director of the Department of Internal Medicine and convener of the lung cancer team at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that “immunotherapy” can delay the progression of the disease in advanced patients. And prolong survival, its application has also begun to expand in recent years, and it has been promoted to preoperative adjuvant treatment for early-stage patients.
Dr. Zhao Yingkai, secretary-general of the Taiwan Society of Thoracic Surgery and director of the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, also explained that in the past, preoperative adjuvant treatment for lung cancer was mainly chemotherapy, but there is still room for improvement in efficacy, and now immunotherapy is added , the pathological complete response rate of patients after treatment increased nearly 11 times, and it can delay recurrence and reduce the risk of death, making the preoperative treatment options for early-stage lung cancer more complete.
Lung cancer has been the “king of cancers” for 19 years! The recurrence rate after surgery is still as high as 70%
Lung cancer has been ranked among the top ten causes of death in Taiwan for many years. When diagnosed, it is often at an advanced stage and inoperable, making it a major dilemma for cancer patients. Dr. Wang Jinzhou pointed out that there is little nerve distribution in the lungs, and lung cancer rarely causes pain or discomfort in the early stages. By the time patients actually feel pain, a high proportion of cancer cells have already metastasized. The good news is that the earlier lung cancer is detected, the higher the survival rate. Therefore, early screening and treatment are important goals for lung cancer prevention and treatment at this stage.
Even if the tumor is successfully removed by surgery, the chance of recurrence in lung cancer patients after surgery is still as high as 40-70%. In order to reduce the possibility of postoperative recurrence, “adjuvant treatment” has gradually emerged in recent years, including postoperative adjuvant treatment to eliminate residual cancer cells that are invisible to the naked eye, as well as reducing the size of the tumor and lowering the patient’s body weight before surgery. Preoperative adjuvant treatment to reduce burden and increase cure rate.
Dr. Zhao Yingkai pointed out that the current postoperative adjuvant options for early-stage lung cancer are quite diverse, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy. In recent years, it has also been discovered that the use of immunotherapy for adjuvant treatment can also reduce the chance of postoperative recurrence; on the other hand, surgery The options for pre-adjuvant treatment are relatively monotonous. Although chemotherapy is currently available, the options are too single, and there is still room to improve the five-year survival rate of patients.
“Although the general environment promotes early screening and treatment, there is still a high chance of recurrence after complete tumor resection, which is a major dilemma in the current treatment of early-stage lung cancer.” Dr. Zhao Yingkai explained.
The rate of “complete pathological response” among selected patients increased by nearly 11 times when immunization was added to preoperative adjuvant therapy.
In recent years, cancer treatment has become increasingly precise, and immunotherapy has become an emerging trend in international treatment. The medical community has gradually moved forward the use of immunotherapy. In the past, it was used for late-stage treatment, but in recent years, it has been used as postoperative auxiliary for early-stage patients; now it is being promoted again. , was used for preoperative adjuvant treatment for the first time. Dr. Wang Jinzhou said that it has been clinically observed that immunotherapy and immunotherapy combination therapy are effective in the treatment of advanced lung cancer. With the promotion of screening, the number of patients with early diagnosis is increasing, and immunotherapy can be used as preoperative auxiliary therapy to effectively reduce the postoperative disease recurrence rate. It is indeed a great gospel.
Dr. Zhao Yingkai also added that studies have shown that compared with the past preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy alone, combined immunotherapy used as preoperative adjuvant for lung cancer can reduce the chance of disease progression or recurrence. After the TFDA approved immunotherapy to be used as postoperative adjuvant, it is now being used again. Entering the field of preoperative auxiliary medicine will benefit more patients and provide patients with early-stage lung cancer with more diversified and affordable treatment options, which is expected to become a new hope for turning the lives of cancer patients around.
