In the medical field, cancer has always been the most concerned disease for both doctors and patients.
Most people regard cancer as an incurable disease, and with the rapid development of modern medical technology, this concept will gradually change.
In the future, cancer is more likely to be regarded as a chronic disease, and a protracted battle will be waged in terms of understanding, treatment, and prognosis.
Cancer is a malignant tumor, which can be divided into carcinoma and sarcoma according to the origin of the tissue.
Among them, malignant tumors derived from epithelial tissue are called carcinomas, and malignant tumors derived from mesenchymal tissue are called sarcomas, and people are accustomed to collectively referring to malignant tumors as cancers.
So far, although cancer has not been completely conquered by humans, there are more and more effective treatment methods, and the formulation of treatment plans can also be different from person to person.
In general, surgery is the main treatment in the early stage of cancer. When the disease progresses further, drug therapy, radiation therapy, and minimally invasive interventional therapy are used to control the patient's condition as much as possible and prolong the survival period.
After being diagnosed with cancer, many people will unknowingly step into some misunderstandings due to the sudden huge psychological pressure.
For example, "tumor growth requires a lot of nutrients, and the tumor will not grow if you are hungry." "Beef and mutton cannot be eaten." "I heard that lung cancer targeted drugs are effective, and I want to eat them." Stimulate tumors"... In fact, people suffering from malignant tumors need to ensure the intake of nutrients, especially protein. Both beef and mutton can be eaten. Otherwise, not only will the tumor not starve to death, but it will also lead to severe malnutrition, making it impossible to withstand follow-up treatment.
Although targeted therapy for cancer is effective, it varies from person to person and cannot be used blindly. Before treatment, patients need to do genetic testing to find the target of the corresponding gene mutation before giving targeted therapy.
As for the CT examination often used in the treatment process, the radiation dose is scientifically calculated and within a safe range.
Therefore, patients should remember not to affect their standard treatment because of some unfounded rumors.
Early detection, early diagnosis and early treatment of cancer are extremely important for disease control.
However, we may not be able to achieve this "three early".
Therefore, doctors have always recommended that everyone have regular physical examinations.
Whether it is when they are told that they have cancer or in the process of fighting against cancer, patients need to maintain a positive attitude, correctly understand and understand it, actively cooperate with doctors in treatment, and establish the confidence to overcome the disease.
Data show that the top four malignant tumors in my country are lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer.
In the past ten years, the incidence of lung cancer in Beijing has increased by nearly 50%, ranking first in the list of malignant tumors.
At the same time, malignant tumors also show a younger trend.
Below, we take the four cancers with the highest incidence rates as examples, and talk about their incidence characteristics and mainstream treatment methods.
Lung cancer often presents with cough and chest pain
Lung cancer is a malignant tumor originating from the lung. The symptoms are diverse, often manifested as cough, hemoptysis, chest pain, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.
If the above situation occurs for unknown reasons, it means that the body has issued an alarm signal, and it is necessary to seek medical treatment in time and perform chest CT and other examinations to rule out cancer.
Especially those with long-term smoking history or family history of lung cancer are themselves at high risk of lung cancer and need to be paid attention to.
●Treatment In recent years, there have been breakthroughs in the treatment of lung cancer, and new drugs emerge or are put into clinical use every year.
At present, there are more than 100 kinds of drugs such as traditional chemotherapy drugs, various new targeted therapy drugs, and immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Chemotherapy is the use of chemical drugs to kill cancer cells; targeted therapy is to design corresponding drugs at the cellular and molecular level for the already defined carcinogenic sites to play an anti-tumor effect. The commonly used lung cancer targeted drugs are tyrosine kinase inhibitors; Immune checkpoint inhibitors achieve anti-tumor effects by improving the function of autoimmune cells.
How to choose the best treatment plan depends on the patient's specific condition, combined with pathological examination and genetic testing technology.
Breast cancer values nodules and skin changes
Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women. Patients often initially develop breast nodules, unexplained nipple discharge, local skin changes in the breast (dimple sign, orange peel), nipple retraction, or axillary lymphadenopathy. abnormal performance.
Its incidence is closely related to genetic factors. If the mother or sister has breast cancer, the risk of cancer will increase.
At the same time, it is also associated with premature menarche or late menopause, gestational age over 30 years old, never having children, taking hormone therapy, as well as obesity, lack of exercise and other factors.
Compared with other cancers, early detection of breast cancer is not a difficult task, and women can achieve early detection through regular self-examination.
Once an abnormality of the breast is found, a breast ultrasound, mammography or breast MRI can be performed at the hospital to confirm the diagnosis.
●The treatment of breast cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, endocrine therapy and targeted therapy, etc., depending on the tumor stage and surgical pathology.
Because breast cancer is inextricably linked to estrogen levels in the body, the treatment of breast cancer by lowering or antagonizing estrogen levels is called endocrine therapy.
This is a continuation of the unique treatment for breast cancer for hundreds of years, and runs through the entire clinical treatment process, including preoperative treatment to postoperative adjuvant treatment, and salvage treatment after breast cancer recurrence.
Stomach cancer or abdominal pain, bloating, weight loss
Gastric cancer is a malignant tumor originating from the upper gastrointestinal tract.
The main function of the stomach is to store and digest food. Therefore, the occurrence of gastric cancer is usually related to poor dietary habits, such as drinking alcohol and high-salt diet, as well as chronic atrophic gastritis and gastric mucosal dysplasia.
In the early stage of the disease, there may be no symptoms or only mild stomach discomfort, and when it develops to a certain extent, it may manifest as upper abdominal pain, bloating, and weight loss.
Endoscopy is the most effective means of diagnosing gastric cancer.
●Surgical treatment is the main treatment for early gastric cancer, and drug treatment, such as chemotherapy and targeted therapy, is mainly used if surgery is not possible.
If the pathology of gastric cancer suggests that Her-2 is positive, the targeted therapy drug anti-Her-2 antibody trastuzumab combined with chemotherapy can be selected.
In recent years, in the treatment of gastric cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors alone or in combination with chemotherapy and targeted therapy have achieved good clinical results.
Changes in bowel habits in colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is a malignant tumor originating from the lower gastrointestinal tract and can occur in the colon or rectum.
Its incidence is related to poor dietary habits such as long-term high-fat and low-fiber diet, chronic inflammation in the intestine, colorectal adenoma, family inheritance and environmental factors (such as molybdenum deficiency in soil).
Patients often experience changes in defecation habits, such as increased frequency of defecation or alternating diarrhea and constipation; changes in stool characteristics, such as thin stools, and even blood in the stool or blood in the stool.
In daily life, these changes should be kept in mind.
Of course, blood in the stool may also be related to hemorrhoids, but the blood in the stool of hemorrhoids is separated from the stool, and the amount is small. Colon cancer blood in the stool is often mixed with the stool.
Generally over the age of 40, the above symptoms persist for more than two weeks; people who have suffered from intestinal adenomas and intestinal polyps and have been treated should pay attention.
Colonoscopy and fecal occult blood testing can screen for colorectal cancer, and digital rectal examination is also a simple and effective method.
●Radical surgical resection can be performed in the treatment of early-stage colorectal cancer, and some metastatic colorectal cancers also have the opportunity for surgery.
Patients with inoperable advanced colorectal cancer are mainly treated with drugs. If the pathology suggests that patients with mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR) or microsatellite instability (MSI-H), immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy can be selected.
Zhou Ning, Li Xu (Author: Medical Oncologist, Beijing Hospital)