Precision treatment of lung cancer: Popular science reveals the secrets! How to use medical black technology to light up the light of life for lung cancer patients?

What is lung cancer? How terrible is it? What is precision treatment for lung cancer? Do you know? When it comes to lung cancer, it often makes people shudder, because countless people lose their lives every year. It is the second most common malignant tumor in the world, but in my country it is the first in terms of incidence and mortality. Due to the heavy burden of the disease, more than 75% of patients are already in the advanced stage when diagnosed with malignant tumors, and their chances of survival within 5 years are low. Today, with the development of medicine, the treatment of lung cancer is no longer a "one-size-fits-all" approach, but a "customized approach". With this new turn of events, lung cancer will also change from a rapidly developing malignant tumor to a controllable chronic disease.

What is the use of the shift from "one size fits all" to "personal customization"?

In the past, lung cancer treatment has always been a "one-size-fits-all" approach that lacks personalization and targeting. Doctors usually use a unified treatment plan, the same drugs, and the same treatment methods regardless of the patient's age, gender, or condition. This "one-size-fits-all" treatment approach often has poor results and even causes serious side effects, bringing unnecessary pain and trouble to patients.

Nowadays, with the rise of the concept of precision medicine, lung cancer treatment has also ushered in an era of "personal customization", which is the so-called precision treatment. Do you know how to achieve precision treatment?

Precision treatment mainly emphasizes the development of personalized treatment plans for each patient based on their specific conditions. By gaining in-depth knowledge of the patient's genetic makeup, molecular structure, and immune status, doctors can more accurately determine the patient's condition and prognosis, thereby selecting the most suitable treatment method and drug for the patient.

At present, it seems that this shift from "one-size-fits-all" to "customized" treatment is still very effective. It not only improves the treatment effect, but also reduces the incidence of side effects caused by medication. Patients no longer have to endure unnecessary pain, but can choose to defeat the "devil" of lung cancer in a more comfortable and personalized treatment environment.

Deeper exploration of lung cancer's "weaknesses"

In order to achieve precise treatment, doctors are more like "detectives", trying to find the "weaknesses" of each lung cancer patient. They found that there are many differences between lung cancer cells and our normal cells, and these differences are the "weaknesses" that doctors can exploit. Among them, gene mutation is a major "weakness" of lung cancer and one of the important factors in the occurrence of lung cancer.

What is gene mutation?

It is a "small error" in the gene replication process that causes the structure or function of the gene to change. For example, when the BRAF gene begins to mutate, it will make lung cancer cells more "ferocious". By testing these mutated genes, it can not only help doctors determine the patient's prognosis and recurrence risk, but also provide potential targets for lung cancer treatment.

In addition to gene mutations, lung cancer cells also have some special molecular "marker substances". These molecular markers can also help identify the type, stage and metastasis of lung cancer cells, so as to develop a more accurate treatment plan for patients. In addition, the state of the immune system also has an important impact on the treatment effect of lung cancer. By understanding the patient's immune status, the patient's sensitivity and effect to immunotherapy can be determined, thereby providing patients with more personalized treatment options.

The emergence of new drugs has brought new breakthroughs in the treatment of lung cancer

Is there any specific medicine to treat it?

In recent years, with the continuous efforts of scientific researchers, new drugs for lung cancer have emerged in an endless stream.

Among them, ALK inhibitors have significantly improved the survival benefits of patients from the first to the third generation of TKI drugs. Other rare target drugs such as BRAF inhibitors combined with MEK inhibitors are important drugs for lung cancer patients. They are mainly aimed at the BRAF gene mutations mentioned above. The BRAF inhibitor combined with MEK inhibitor combination treatment regimen can act on the BRAF mutant protein and inhibit its activity when the BRAF gene mutates, leading to the malignant proliferation and metastasis of lung cancer cells, thereby controlling the growth and spread of lung cancer cells.

In addition, many other new drugs targeting different lung cancer targets are also under development. These new drugs inhibit tumor growth and metastasis by acting on different parts of lung cancer cells. As these new drugs are launched on the market, the treatment options for lung cancer patients will become more abundant and the treatment effect will be further improved.

What are the challenges and difficulties facing precision medicine?

Although precision treatment has brought new hope to lung cancer patients, it still faces some challenges and difficulties.

First of all, precision treatment requires advanced detection technologies and methods to accurately identify each patient's lung cancer type and gene mutation. However, due to regional differences and uneven medical resources, many patients may not be able to obtain timely and accurate testing. This has led to "missed diagnosis" or "misdiagnosis" in some patients during the treatment process, seriously affecting the treatment effect.

Secondly, precision treatment often requires high costs. For some patients with poor economic conditions, bearing the cost of treatment is undoubtedly a heavy burden. This forces many patients to give up precision treatment and choose traditional conservative treatment methods, which affects the treatment effect and quality of life.

In addition, precision treatment also faces technical challenges. Since the pathogenesis of lung cancer is very complex and involves the interaction of multiple genes and molecules, doctors need to have a deeper understanding of the pathogenesis of lung cancer, discover more therapeutic targets and drugs, and increase investment in scientific research in order to promote innovation and development in the field of lung cancer.

Looking to the future, what should we do?

Looking to the future, precision treatment will help lung cancer become a controllable disease. Although we are facing some challenges and difficulties now, we should be full of confidence in the future. With the continuous advancement of medical technology and the continuous efforts of scientific researchers, I believe that precision treatment will play an increasingly important role in the treatment of lung cancer.

First, with the continuous development of genetic testing technology, doctors can more accurately identify each patient's gene mutation and molecular markers. This will provide doctors with a more reliable and personalized basis for treatment, making precision treatment more accurate and effective.

Secondly, with the continuous development and launch of new drugs, there will be more therapeutic drugs targeting different targets of lung cancer. These new drugs will provide more diverse and personalized treatment options, making lung cancer treatment more comprehensive and effective.

In addition, with the application of big data and artificial intelligence technology, we can conduct in-depth mining and analysis of massive clinical data to discover more treatment rules and potential treatment targets. This will provide more accurate and scientific treatment plans and further improve treatment effects and survival rates.

Finally, we hope that more researchers and medical institutions will join the research and practice of precision treatment of lung cancer. By strengthening international cooperation and exchanges, sharing research results and experience, we can promote the rapid development of precision treatment of lung cancer. Lung cancer will no longer be so scary, and it will truly become a controllable chronic disease.

Conclusion

Do you know about the above precision treatment of lung cancer? It is like a battle without gunpowder, which concerns everyone's life and hope. In this battle, the joint efforts and collaboration of doctors, patients, scientific researchers and all sectors of society are needed.

In the future, we need to work together to welcome a new chapter in the field of precision treatment of lung cancer, and look forward to the day when lung cancer is no longer a frightening disease, but a challenge that can be controlled and overcome by us, thus bringing hope and opportunities for recovery to more patients, because every breakthrough in medicine will be the deepest respect and protection for life.

Expert introduction

Wang Zhiyu

Chief Physician Professor Doctoral Supervisor

Director of Tumor Immunology Department, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University

Deputy Director of the Stem Cell and Immune Cell Research Center, Institute of Medicine and Health, Hebei Medical University

Deputy Director of the Scientific Research Department of the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University

Young Director of the Chinese Medical Association Oncology Branch

Vice Chairman of the Medical Genomics and Bioinformatics Committee of the Chinese Medical Education Association

Member of Chinese Immunology Association

Chairman of the Tumor Biotherapy Professional Committee of Hebei Anti-Cancer Association

Chairman of the Tumor Biotherapy Committee of Hebei Immunology Society

Chairman of the Tumor Immunotherapy Committee of Hebei Clinical Oncology Society

Chairman of the Immune Cell Therapy Branch of Hebei Biomedical Engineering Society

Secretary General of Hebei Western Returned Scholars Association Physician Branch

Standing Committee Member of the Oncology Committee of Hebei Anti-Cancer Association

Executive Director of Hebei Immunology Society

Approval code TML0021575-54483, valid until 2025-04-18, expired information will be deemed invalid