Author: Care Online
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Cancer immune drugs use the body’s immune system to fight the disease and have the opportunity to produce more significant therapeutic effects than traditional chemotherapy. They have been a hot topic in medical research in recent years and provide more treatment options for lung cancer. However, many cancer patients and their family members still have many questions about this new treatment. For this reason, Professor Cai Junming, an authoritative lung cancer physician, has also compiled several frequently asked questions by patients, hoping to help everyone better understand cancer immunotherapy.
Treatment with cancer immunotherapy drugs may still be restarted after interruption
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Cancer immunotherapy is sometimes suspended because the patient’s immunity and physical strength are reduced or side effects occur. If the patient’s physical strength is restored and side effects are reduced before treatment is resumed, there is still a chance that the treatment will be effective. In addition, sometimes the initial effect of treatment may be good, but in the later stage, the treatment effect will be affected due to the resistance of tumor cells to the drug. At this time, if the patient’s treatment period is long and the tumor continues to worsen, it is not ruled out that the treatment can be suspended for a while. After recovery again, sometimes the therapeutic effect still appears.
Observing tumor indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy drugs
Professor Cai Junming pointed out that after starting cancer immunotherapy, it may sometimes be found that the effect is not as good as expected. At this time, the medical team will perform genetic testing again on the patient to confirm whether the patient has previously undiscovered mutated genes that can be treated with targeted drugs. In another case, sometimes the effect is not as good as expected, and the tumor may even deteriorate rapidly. However, usually after a period of observation, the tumor may begin to shrink. In response to this type of situation, doctors usually observe the patient’s tumor indicators. If the tumor indicators continue to decrease, it can be inferred that the treatment is effective, and patient tracking can continue. Cai Junming also suggested that if patients have any questions during the treatment process, they should discuss it with their doctor at any time.
Closely follow up and observe and adjust treatment plans based on patient outcomes
In view of the fact that some patients may not be as effective as expected when they first start cancer immunotherapy, the treatment is usually 3 weeks as a treatment cycle, and a computerized tomography is performed every 2 months or so to judge the efficacy. For patients who respond well to immunotherapy, it is usually recommended to continue using it for 1 to 2 years. Cai Junming pointed out that after two years of treatment, you can consider suspending treatment at an appropriate time and observe the recurrence of the tumor before evaluating whether to continue.
Cancer treatment varies from person to person and should not be followed blindly!Taking the initiative to discuss with your doctor is the right solution
Cancer immune drugs are not available to all patients with advanced lung cancer. Currently, they are only recommended for patients without tumor gene mutations. Patients with gene mutations are recommended to use targeted drug treatment. Clinical trial results show that they can effectively control the disease. Cai Junming pointed out that cancer immune drugs and targeted drugs are two types of treatments and are suitable for different patients. Unless it is a clinical trial, the academic community currently does not recommend their simultaneous use.
Some patients may experience side effects such as “interstitial pneumonia” after receiving cancer immunotherapy. Cai Junming reminded that the symptoms of interstitial pneumonia are cough and dyspnea. If patients experience these two symptoms at the same time, they should proactively inform their doctors. In addition to abnormal lung function, cancer immunotherapy drugs may also cause patients to have abnormal renal function, and in severe cases may even cause irreversible effects. Therefore, if you have suspected adverse reaction symptoms, please take the initiative to discuss it with your doctor.
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(This article is reprinted with permission from “Care Online”, the original text is published here)
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2024-04-03 09:29:41
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