How effective is the 1.2 million yuan-a-dose "anti-cancer drug"?
The reporter interviewed the oncologist of Shenyang Sixth Hospital, a hematologist at the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, and talked about the "anti-cancer drug"
Recently, a piece of news that was widely circulated on some short video platforms triggered heated discussions: "One injection of 1.2 million yuan will clear the cancer cells in two months."
Netizens have asked: "Is it true that a 1.2 million injection can kill cancer cells?" A hospital in Shanghai that uses this product to treat patients has also attracted much attention.
All media reporters from Shenyang Evening News and Shenbao interviewed a hematologist at Shengjing Hospital affiliated to China Medical University and a comprehensive interventional oncology doctor at the Sixth Hospital of Shenyang on this matter.
Their basic statement is that the 1.2 million yuan "magic drug" circulated on the Internet is actually a cellular immunotherapy method, which has indications and has a relatively good effect on hematological tumors and several other tumors. But it is not effective for all tumors.
Online: 1.2 million yuan of anticancer drug can clear cancer cells in two months
The reporter learned that the original "1.2 million yuan a shot of anticancer drug" appeared in the form of a post.
In the second half of this year, a post of "1.2 million yuan per shot of anti-cancer drug can clear cancer cells within two months" immediately triggered a national heated debate. In addition to its own powerful anti-cancer function, The high price of 1.2 million yuan per injection is also very eye-catching. There is even a Shanghai patient, Ms. Chen (pseudonym), who personally broke the news, claiming that she was the first beneficiary of the successful treatment of "diffuse large B-cell lymphoma" in the country.
Hematology expert: It is not a medicine, but a treatment for tumors, which has a certain effect on some cancer patients.
Dr. Yao Kun, deputy chief physician of the Department of Hematology, Shengjing Hospital Affiliated to China Medical University, said in an interview: "1.2 million yuan per shot of anticancer drugs, the real situation is that the treatment cost 1.2 million yuan'cellular immunotherapy' (a kind of Treatment method), this method is a product that is already on the market approved by the state, developed by a certain biological company, and is mainly targeted at lymphoma and solid tumors."
Yao Kun said that it is not a medicine, it is a personalized treatment method for cancer patients, mainly using the patient's blood to prepare and then return.
This process is that the doctor finds that the cancer patient meets this treatment method. The doctor contacts the biological company, collects blood, performs "cell preparation" in the laboratory, and then puts the prepared cells back into the patient's body. It is currently used in southern China There are many, but it is rarely used in the Northeast.
The clinical effective rate reaches 70% to 80%, and individual cases can be cured, mainly for relapsed and refractory lymphomas, which are not suitable for the initial stage of cancer. On the whole, this is a scientific advancement and is the hope of some tumor patients.
Oncologist: The price is high because it is an individualized treatment
Director Wang Ning, Department of Tumor Interventional Comprehensive Treatment, Shenyang Sixth People’s Hospital, said: “The statement on the Internet about 1.2 million yuan per injection is wrong. In fact, it is a treatment method for tumors. This method has indications. Yes, it is not as well publicized on the Internet, and citizens should not be overly superstitious about this treatment method."
So, is the statement "cancer cells cleared" in two months accurate?
Wang Ning said that the so-called "cancer cell clearing" is not rigorous. It can only be said that the number of cancer cells has been reduced during imaging or blood tests, the condition has been controlled, and the treatment has achieved certain effects. It has been used for treatment in China for less than a year, and fewer than 100 patients have been treated. I hope that everyone will not listen to or over-believe in this treatment.
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Why is the price of this treatment so high?
Wang Ning said that the medical term for this treatment is called "CAR-T" therapy. It first extracts immune T cells from the patient, and then uses genetic engineering technology to introduce in vitro that allows T cells to recognize specific tumor cells and kill tumor cells. The CAR-T cells are cultured in large quantities in the laboratory, and then the amplified "enhanced" immune T cells are returned to the patient for treatment.
The price is high because it is an individualized treatment.
The whole process does not have a production workshop and processing flow like other medicines, and the cost is relatively high.
The cost of treatment in foreign countries is even higher, reaching about 2.5 million yuan, while domestic ones are 1.2 million yuan.
However, with the development of CAR-T products and the popularization of applications, the price bottleneck may be broken and the price will drop.
At present, the main treatments for tumors are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but there are still limitations in treatment. Cellular immunotherapy is a good development direction and has a promising future.
Shenyang Evening News and Shenyang News Media Director Wu Qiang, according to IC-photo