In cancer treatment, radiotherapy is one of the three major methods of cancer treatment (surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy), but many people do not have enough awareness of radiotherapy, the traditional cancer treatment, and some people even feel that radiotherapy has radiation and should be used sparingly.
However, in fact, with the rapid development of modern radiotherapy technology, radiotherapy has broken away from the inherent model of "killing 10,000 enemies and self-inflicting 8,000" in the past, and has embarked on a new journey of accurate and intelligent anti-cancer.
Recently, Professor Xu Xiangying, director of the Department of Radiation Oncology of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, was a guest in the live broadcast room of the media "Dialogue with Famous Doctor Lin Xin" of the Medical Federation, and conducted a live broadcast with the theme of "The Role of Precision Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Liver Cancer", discussing the issues related to precision radiotherapy for liver cancer that netizens are concerned about.
The mainland is a "big country with liver cancer", with more than half of the world's cases
According to the World Health Organization, the number of new liver cancer cases and deaths in China exceeds half of the world's, making it the second leading cause of death in the mainland.
What's even more shocking is that up to 70% of liver cancer patients have already entered the middle and advanced stage at the time of diagnosis, and the difficulty of treatment has greatly increased.
Professor Xu Xiangying introduced that the traditional treatment methods for liver cancer include surgery, intervention, radiofrequency ablation, etc. Although they have been widely used in the treatment of liver cancer, the therapeutic effect is still insufficient.
Advantages of precision radiotherapy in the treatment of liver cancer
In the past, due to people's limited understanding of radiotherapy and the need to improve the accuracy of radiotherapy equipment, doctors were usually more inclined to recommend surgery, liver transplantation, intervention, chemotherapy and other methods when seeking treatment options for liver cancer patients.
However, with the rapid and precise progress of tumor radiotherapy equipment and technology, the importance of radiotherapy in the field of liver cancer treatment has changed from what it used to be, and it has become an indispensable and important method in the comprehensive treatment of liver cancer.
Modern precision radiotherapy mainly uses X-rays, electron rays, proton beams and other particle beams generated by linear accelerators to cause DNA double-strand breaks in tumors and completely destroy tumors. Its advantages are mainly manifested in the following aspects:
1. Precise positioning: the tumor can be accurately targeted according to a variety of images to reduce the damage to the surrounding normal tissues;
2. Shorten the treatment time: Compared with traditional radiotherapy, the treatment time can be significantly shortened, such as stereotactic radiotherapy SBRT and other cutting-edge technologies;
3. It can be combined with other therapies: such as surgery, intervention, chemotherapy and targeted immunity to enhance the therapeutic effect;
4. Improve quality of life: radiotherapy is a non-invasive technology, which can significantly reduce treatment-related adverse reactions, reduce patient reactions, ensure the compliance of patients' treatment, and improve patients' quality of life;
5. Minimally invasive: radiotherapy is a shadowless X-knife non-invasive technique, and elderly patients with serious medical diseases or refusal of surgery can also receive radiotherapy treatment;
6. Wide range of application: It has a certain therapeutic effect on liver cancer at different stages from early to advanced stage.
Professor Xu Xiangying also mentioned in the live broadcast: "Radiotherapy is non-invasive, with low risk and relatively small toxic side effects, because it is a local treatment, just like a missile installed with GPS, it is very accurate, and it can effectively improve the local control rate and quality of life." ”
Which liver cancer patients are candidates for radiotherapy?
Liver cancer is a radiosensitive tumor, therefore, radiotherapy has a certain effect on all stages of liver cancer! Professor Xu Xiangying also introduced in detail the applicable population of precision radiotherapy for liver cancer in the live broadcast.
For patients with small liver cancer who are unable or unwilling to operate or inoperable in the early stage, SBRT can be cured with precision radiotherapy SBRT with less damage to liver function.
For liver cancer patients with poor physical condition and underlying serious medical diseases, precision radiotherapy is safer, it does not require anesthesia and is non-traumatic, so the damage is less and the patient recovers faster;
For patients with liver cancer who are in good overall condition, have good liver function, do not have cirrhosis, and do not have jaundice, ascites, hypersplenism and esophageal varices, and whose cancer is relatively localized and has not yet metastasized in distant areas, but is not suitable for surgical resection or recurrence after surgery, a comprehensive treatment regimen based on radiation therapy can be used.
In addition, radiotherapy is more suitable for the treatment of portal cancer thrombosis of liver cancer, preoperative neoadjuvant therapy of HCC with portal cancer thrombus, large liver cancer that is otherwise inoperable, and the tumor shrinks and becomes operable after radiotherapy, as well as bridging therapy while waiting for liver transplantation, and palliative treatment of systemic metastases of liver cancer (lung, bone, adrenal gland, brain, etc.).
Finally, Professor Xu Xiangying also concluded that the rapid development of non-invasive precision radiotherapy technology has brought new hope and courage to liver cancer patients, and also provided patients with more choices and opportunities. Let's work together to explore more possibilities!
The picture in this article is from the copyright owner, and no website, newspaper, television station, company, organization, or individual may use it in part or in whole without the permission of the copyright owner.