China News Service, January 20 (Reporter Chen Jing) Cancer has become one of the major public health problems that seriously threaten the health of residents. The number of head and neck cancer patients in China is increasing, but many people lack knowledge about head and neck cancer.

The reporter learned on the 20th that at present, immunotherapy can allow some head and neck cancer patients to achieve long-term survival and close to "cure". Experts are working hard to explore multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment and manage patients throughout the process.

　　The reporter learned on the 20th that Professor Guo Ye from the Head and Neck Cancer Committee of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO), Professor Guo Ye from Shanghai Dongfang Hospital, Professor Yang Kunyu, Director of Oncology Department of Huazhong University of Science and Technology Union Hospital, and Han, Deputy Director of Radiotherapy Department of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center Non-professors gathered at the head and neck cancer disease popular science media roundtable discussion to share the current status of head and neck cancer diseases and treatment.

　　"Head and neck cancer can be divided into oral cancer, throat cancer, and nasopharyngeal cancer according to different parts. The symptoms of different parts will be different." Professor Guo Ye introduced that the occurrence of head and neck cancer has a great relationship with lifestyle habits.

Tobacco and alcohol are the main carcinogens. Most patients with head and neck cancer have smoking and drinking habits.

The expert told reporters that in some areas of Taiwan or Hunan, people have the habit of chewing betel nuts.

Betel nut contains arecoline, which causes a high incidence of oral cancer in the local area.

During the interview, Guo Ye revealed that in the United States, the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer related to HPV infection is increasing year by year.

　　Guo Ye bluntly said that because many people do not understand head and neck cancer and ignore possible precancerous lesions, 70% to 80% of patients with head and neck cancer are already locally advanced or advanced when they are diagnosed with head and neck cancer, which requires comprehensive treatment and is prone to recurrence.

Relevant data show that patients with head and neck cancer have a higher mortality rate, and the 5-year survival rate for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer is only 3.6%.

　　Professor Yang Kunyu said: "Head and neck cancer is in a very special position, and treatment may affect the patient's organ function and appearance. The past medical treatment of head and neck cancer is relatively limited. The biggest breakthrough in recent years is the first-line immunotherapy for head and neck cancer."

　　During the interview, the reporter learned that in December 2020, Pembrolizumab was approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China as a single drug for related metastatic or unresectable recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). ) First-line treatment for patients. This is the first domestic first-line immunotherapy for patients with specific advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

　　During the interview, experts agreed that the mechanism of immunotherapy is to mobilize autoimmune cells to attack tumor cells, and use its immune memory function to keep the patient's tumor in a state of long-term regression.

Compared with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, immunotherapy is safer, allowing some patients to achieve long-term survival and close to "cure".

It is reported that more and more studies have moved immunotherapy forward to further increase the cure rate and reduce the recurrence rate.

　　Despite the outstanding efficacy, there are still many patients who want to stop immunotherapy out of consideration of economic burden.

Starting in 2021, the patient assistance project called "Key to Life" initiated by the China Primary Health Care Foundation has undergone a comprehensive adjustment to benefit more patients.

"The overall treatment cost of the latest patient assistance program has been reduced to about a quarter of the previous one, which has greatly reduced the financial burden of patients." Professor Guo Ye revealed.

　　"In the past, the treatment of head and neck cancer was mainly in the departments of surgery and radiotherapy. With the advent of chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, the participation of physicians has increased, and there are even imaging, pathology, nuclear medicine, and nutrition. Participation of doctors such as departments." Professor Han Fei said, "The multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment model does not only refer to the treatment of patients, but also involves the full-process management of patients including post-treatment rehabilitation training and management of toxic and side effects. Each department should follow suit. According to the patient’s condition, the treatment plan should be reasonably selected and the treatment sequence should be arranged according to the patient’s condition in a timely manner to better ensure the maximum benefit of the patient."

　　During the interview, Professor Guo Ye was confident about the future of head and neck cancer in China.

He believes that with the continuous advancement of the work of the CSCO (Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology) Head and Neck Tumor Committee, the multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment model and standardized immunotherapy are further popularized, and clinical research continues to explore the possibility of combining immunotherapy to expand more beneficiaries. China's head and neck cancer diagnosis and treatment will enter a new stage.

It is understood that the CSCO Head and Neck Tumor Committee was established in 2018 and formulated the "CSCO Head and Neck Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines" to help improve the level of primary diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancer.

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