Immunopharmaceuticals prolong survival for patients with advanced cancer

Expert advice by Dr. Doctor Le Tan Dat, Oncologist, Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.

Positive treatment results when using the immunotherapy drug Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is a good sign for cancer patients, especially those with advanced, metastatic cancer. As one of the first hospitals in Vietnam to use Keytruda immunotherapy for cancer treatment, Vinmec is perfecting a multimodal cancer treatment model, opening up a lot of hope in the fight against cancer.

The main cancer treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy.. In which, surgery and radiation therapy play an important role in the treatment of some cancers at an early stage, when the tumor is still localized (in situ, in the region).
Unfortunately, there is still a large percentage of patients who are found to have cancer at a late stage, or the disease has recurred and metastasized and is no longer able to undergo surgery or radiation therapy. At this time, chemotherapy is the main treatment. However, the results of chemotherapy are still limited and the side effects of chemotherapy often make it difficult for patients to continue long-term treatment. The birth of Keytruda immunotherapy has solved the above disadvantages, helping to increase the effectiveness of other therapies when combining treatment while minimizing unwanted side effects. This is the "revolutionary" discovery that brought the 2018 Nobel Prize in medicine to two scientists, Tasuku Honjo, 76 years old, from Japan, and James P. Allison, from the US.

The body's immune system has the function of recognizing and destroying foreign cells. However, some cancer cells have the ability to make the immune system unable to recognize and destroy. Keytruda immunotherapy has been shown to be able to "neutralize" this ability of cancer cells, thereby helping immune cells recognize attacking cancer cells and destroy them.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tuyet Mai - Head of Internal Oncology Department, Vinmec Times City International Hospital: “Keytruda immunotherapy only kills malignant cells without affecting normal cells. As a result, this therapy helps to minimize unwanted side effects and improve treatment results. On the other hand, treatment with Keytruda has a much higher response rate than conventional cancer chemotherapy. Elderly patients or patients with advanced disease such as metastatic cancer, .. can still hope in Keytruda”.

Since June 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Keytruda for the following indications:

*TPS (total positive score): percentage of tumor cells (alive) positive for PD-L1; CPS (combined positive score): percentage of cells (including: tumor cells, lymphocytes, macrophages,... infiltrating the tumor) positive for PD-L1.

In Vietnam, Keytruda immunotherapy has been licensed for use by the Ministry of Health since the end of 2017. Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the first hospitals in Vietnam to apply this therapy. Since the beginning of 2018 until now, Vinmec has treated with Keytruda for more than 50 patients with lung cancer, melanoma, head and neck cancer, cancer of the esophagus, stomach, colon, lymphoma....
The results show that the response rate is high, patients using the drug improve their health, with few side effects. In particular, the successful treatment of T/NK cell lymphoma with Keytruda at Vinmec by Ms. Nguyen Thi N.A (35 years old) is the first and only case of extranodal extranodal extranodal T/NK cell lymphoma in the world. The whole country responded completely to treatment.

From those initial successes, Vinmec Hospital plans to expand the use of immunotherapy drugs to treat many other malignancies. Along with using Keytruda, patients will be combined with other therapies depending on the location of the lesion, such as combining autologous immune-boosting therapy, thermogenic therapy... to improve results. treatment.

Taking the lead in updating modern diagnostic & therapeutic protocols in cancer treatment in the world, since July 2019, Vinmec has cooperated with the University of Pennsylvania – Top 8 leading universities in Vietnam The US built the Center of Excellence for Oncology (COE: Center of Excellence), comprehensively developing expertise, scientific research, human resources and operating according to the standards currently applied in the US.
Vinmec is also one of the first hospitals in Vietnam to apply the multimodal cancer treatment model. In addition to traditional methods such as surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, Vinmec also updates modern methods such as immunotherapy, combining active supportive therapies such as strengthening the autologous immune system. , heat therapy ... help cancer patients improve treatment efficiency and quality of life.
To know more about cancer treatment with Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) at Vinmec International General Hospital, customers can register for an online examination HERE.