From 2018 to present, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital has implemented multimodal treatment for more than 100 patients with advanced gastric cancer, combining chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted drugs and surgery with a response rate of more than 50%.
This figure is considered spectacular compared to the previous period when metastatic stomach cancer was almost impossible to cure, and at the same time opened up opportunities for patients with advanced stomach cancer (late stage).
Recently, an 18-year-old female patient from Dong Nai province with advanced metastatic gastric cancer was successfully treated at the Department of Gastroenterology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City with a multimodal approach combining chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery.
Previously, the patient was hospitalized with prolonged abdominal pain, poor appetite, nausea, vomiting after eating, and a weight loss of 9kg in just 2-3 months.
Admitted to the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, through endoscopy and biopsy, the doctor discovered diffuse gastric cancer (linitis plastica), tumor invasion of the pancreas, transverse colon mesentery and abdominal peritoneal metastasis.
"This is a special case because stomach cancer usually occurs in people over 60 years old. The discovery of a patient with advanced stomach cancer at the age of 18 is a clear warning about the trend of this disease getting younger, emphasizing the urgent need for early screening and timely detection in the community," said Dr. Nguyen Viet Hai, Department of Digestive Surgery.
Right from the time of admission, doctors from the Department of Gastroenterology, together with experts from the Department of Cancer Chemotherapy, the Department of Pathology, and the Department of Diagnostic Imaging, consulted and developed a multi-modal, individualized treatment regimen based on the molecular biological characteristics of the tumor.
Patients are tested for tumor cell mutations, from which doctors prescribe the best current treatment by combining immunotherapy with systemic chemotherapy from the beginning.
After 6 treatment sessions lasting more than 4 months, the patient responded very well to the above regimen: the metastases reduced by 90% in size, the main tumor shrank significantly. The patient gained 10kg, improved his physical condition and returned to almost normal activities.
When qualified, the treatment team performed surgery to remove the entire stomach, remove D2 lymph nodes, and biopsy the metastatic sites. The surgery was safe and successful. The patient recovered quickly, ate, walked normally, and was discharged 7 days after surgery.
Postoperative pathology results showed that the patient responded almost completely, with only about 10% of malignant cells remaining in the main tumor, and the metastatic foci in the abdomen before treatment no longer had cancer cells.
Genetic mutation and circulating cancer DNA surveys are also performed to provide personalized information for prognosis and treatment monitoring. Patients continue to be closely monitored with advanced means and additional treatment (maintenance immunotherapy) is considered to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Associate Professor, Doctor, Physician Vo Duy Long, Deputy Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, shared that this case demonstrates the effectiveness of multimodal treatment and personalized medicine in advanced gastric cancer. The key to success is close coordination between specialties, accurate diagnosis at the cellular and molecular level, and development of a treatment regimen suitable for each patient.
Stomach cancer has vague symptoms in the early stages, so patients can easily confuse it with common diseases. Therefore, the disease is often detected when it has progressed to a late stage.
Stomach cancer is often treated with multiple methods and is specific to each individual, called personalized treatment. Each treatment method has its strengths and weaknesses. Multimodal treatment aims to control cancer well by combining the strengths of each method.
Multimodal therapy is the use and combination of multiple treatment methods in the treatment of cancer to minimize the possibility of failure (local, regional or distant metastasis) and to preserve organs and organ function, thereby improving survival time as well as quality of life.
Since 2018, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital has implemented multimodal treatment for more than 100 patients with advanced gastric cancer, combining chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted drugs and surgery. The response rate has reached more than 50%, a figure considered spectacular compared to the previous period when metastatic gastric cancer was almost impossible to cure.
Research data of this treatment model was published in the European Journal of Surgical Oncology in early 2025./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/phuong-phap-dieu-tri-mo-ra-co-hoi-cho-benh-nhan-ung-thu-da-day-giai-doan-muon-post1051024.vnp
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