[China Tech] Local Doctors Develop Innovative Therapy For Cancer of the Biliary Duct

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Cholangiocarcinoma, a cancer of the biliary duct, is often referred to as the "king of cancer" due to its aggressive nature and the minimal symptoms present in its early stages. The 5-year survival rate for patients diagnosed at the terminal stage is less than 10 percent.

Local medical specialists have developed a new treatment for terminal cholangiocarcinoma, which has shown promise in extending patients' survival rates, marking a significant breakthrough in the treatment of this disease globally. The response rate for this treatment has improved dramatically, rising from 5 percent to 75 percent.

Doctors from Shanghai's Zhongshan Hospital explained that the new treatment combines cryoablation with targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

This research marks the first time cryoablation has been included in the treatment protocol, yielding highly effective clinical results. Cryoablation is a technique that employs extremely cold gas to destroy tumor cells.

"Compared with traditional treatments, this novel approach utilizes cryoablation to fragment cancer cells and activate immune responses, employs targeted therapies to normalize cancerous blood vessels and facilitate immune cell infiltration into tumors, and incorporates immunotherapy to bolster the strength of immune cells," according to Dr Wang Peng, the chief specialist involved in the research.

"The clinical studies have demonstrated very promising results, and we plan to initiate a multi-center clinical trial soon to benefit a larger patient population," Wang said, revealing the launch of a new phase of broader clinical trials over the weekend.

The prestigious journal Nature Cancer published the research findings.

If you are interested in the clinical trial

The clinical trial is open to expatriate patients as well, according to Zhongshan Hospital.

Interested patients can visit Dr Wang Peng's outpatient clinic on Monday and Wednesday at Zhongshan Hospital.