How long does targeted therapy last for gastric cancer patients? Pay attention to these

Targeted therapy is generally used when the cancer cells of patients have too much HER2 protein. Drug treatment for gastric cancer has been stagnant for many years. Gastric cancer is highly hidden in the early stages, and about 70% of patients are diagnosed in the middle and late stages. This treatment method generally requires long-term treatment and may also have some side effects.

In recent years, as the incidence of gastric cancer has increased, the treatment methods for this disease have also been continuously improved. For example, targeted therapy, many people do not understand this treatment method, and the duration of treatment is also a problem that patients are most concerned about. The following is some explanation around this issue. For example, the duration of targeted therapy for gastric cancer patients.
1. For targeted therapy of some tumor cells, if monoclonal antibodies such as Herceptin are used for treatment, the duration will be very long. If the patient's condition improves during the treatment, the treatment can be continued until the condition stabilizes or there is an opportunity for surgery.
2. Another situation is long-term treatment. When small molecule drugs are used for vascular targeted therapy, the blood oxygen concentration needs to be maintained. Therefore, it takes a relatively long time for the patient's condition to improve. At the same time, some side effects may also occur. Specific drugs need to be combined with the doctor's advice to avoid taking them indiscriminately.
Which gastric cancer patients are suitable for targeted therapy?
1. Gastric cancer, like breast cancer, has yin and yang, and can be divided into negative and positive according to the status of HER2. If a cancer patient is HER2 positive, it means that there are too many HER2 proteins on the surface of the cancer cells, which will cause the cancer cells to grow wildly and become more invasive. At this time, the patient's condition is prone to recurrence or metastasis, and the prognosis is relatively poor. It is recommended to choose targeted therapy.
2. Another situation is that the drug treatment of gastric cancer always stagnates. There are only a few drugs for treatment. In the absence of targeted drugs, chemotherapy drugs for gastric cancer change among these 6 drugs. Although many doctors have tried different combinations, the effect has been unsatisfactory.
3. Gastric cancer is highly hidden in the early stages, and about 70% of patients are diagnosed in the middle or late stages. Due to the lack of effective treatment methods, the overall treatment effect of gastric cancer is still not ideal, and its 5-year survival rate is about 5% to 20%, and the overall average survival time is less than 1 year.