New Hope For Cancer Patients! Intratumoral Injection And Targeted Therapy, Which One Is Better? 3 Minutes To Read

Although modern medicine is still unable to conquer cancer, it does not mean that there is no cure. Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, traditional Chinese medicine, and targeted therapy are used to control the proliferation of cancer cells, improve the 5-year cure rate, prolong the survival period, and improve the quality of life. Now, targeted immunotherapy and intratumoral injection have made a major breakthrough in the treatment of cancer, so what is the difference between the two?

What is the difference between intratumoral injection and targeted immunotherapy?

1. Intratumoral injection

Most organs can be injected intratumorally under image guidance. The drug will first diffuse into the injection area, and when the local high initial tissue concentration is reached, these drugs will slowly enter the systemic circulation. Gradual inhalation of drug components into the blood has certain advantages, allowing higher doses of the drug to be used and well-tolerated.

Through intratumoral administration, the drug can directly enter the tumor-draining lymph nodes, which are the key points for initiating and maintaining anti-tumor immune responses. Injecting pro-inflammatory substances into tumors increases the ability of immune cells to attack cancer cells.

2. Targeted immunotherapy

Drugs or prodrugs are delivered systemically, engineered through various targeting strategies, and then selectively accumulated in tumor tissue or draining lymphoid tissue.

The methods are divided into three types. The first one is to chimeric immunotherapy drugs to certain molecules, which may only have an affinity with tumor cells and stromal cells in malignant tissues. Even with systemic administration, the drug simply accumulates in the tumor tissue.

The second is lipid-based microvesicles or nanovesicles, with the help of transporters, the drug is transported to the tumor tissue and released slowly, which can improve the bioavailability of the drug in the tumor; the third is systemic administration without activity The prodrugs of the tumor tissue use biological or physical characteristics that only tumor tissues have to ensure that only tumor tissues can activate the prodrugs.

Which is faster, targeted therapy or intratumoral injection?

1. Intratumoral injection

The principle of intratumoral injection therapy is to activate human immune cells, use immune cells to kill cancer cells, and then eliminate cancer. This process is relatively long, and some patients who take only treatment methods may experience false Zhaan, that is, a re-examination of CT after treatment. Finding that the tumor is larger than before does not mean that the treatment is ineffective, it is the result of immune cells fighting to enter the tumor tissue.

CT can't tell which one is an immune cell and which one is a tumor, so it can only show that the tumor is getting bigger. In this case, the treatment cannot be given up, as long as the treatment continues, the tumor will rapidly shrink.

2. Targeted therapy

Targeted immunotherapy refers to finding the target where the tumor is located, hitting it precisely, and taking effect quickly. Some cancer patients can see their tumors shrink within a few weeks if the targeted drugs are effective. Take lung cancer patients as an example, the commonly used targeted immune drug is Iressa, the onset time is about 6 weeks, and the effect can be seen after one month of treatment.

Tips

Although intratumoral injection therapy has a slow onset, once it does, it can provide long-term benefits, and some patients can survive or be cured for a long time. Although targeted drug therapy has a rapid onset and significant effect, drug resistance can develop after a period of medication, and the drug needs to be changed again, which also increases the difficulty of treatment.

No matter which treatment method is used, there are advantages and disadvantages, no one is more effective, and the one that suits the patient is the best. No matter which treatment method is adopted, the medication should be strictly followed by the doctor's prescription, and regular review should be carried out.