This reporter requested Professor Xu to talk on therapies for pancreatic cancer from a professional prospective. Professor Xu referred to a book written by him and Professor Zhang Zhi Hong entitled ¡°Clinical Pancreaology¡±. According to him there was no effective therapy for pancreatic cancer yet. Both chemotherapy and radiotherapy had been found ineffective. Less than 5% of pancreatic tumors were resectable.
However, cryoablation therapy had brought a ray of hope to pancreatic cancer patients. He referred further to an article written by Dr. Korpan, an Austrian medical practitioner in an English medical book ¡°Basic of Cryosurgery¡±. Dr. Korpan found that the resectable rate for pancreatic tumors was very low. He discovered that cryoablation therapy was suitable for pancreatic cancer. From the cases he had handled, quite a number of his pancreatic cancer patients managed to stay alive for a substantial period. Based on Dr. Korpan¡¯s studies, Professor Xu develops further the use of cryoablation therapy for pancreatic cancer. They perform cryoablation therapy on pancreatic tumors not only in laparotomy,but also via percutaneous mode. The latter mode is mini-invasive to patients.
Guided by CT scan, cryoprobes are inserted into the tumors to freeze and then thaw them thus leading to cells death. They also use integrated approaches by combining cryoablation therapy with other therapies like iodine radioactive seeds implantation therapy, interventionaltherapy and immunotherapy. These therapies cause little injury to patients and produce far better results than those of conventional therapies.
Heart cancer
Throughout the interview, this reporter was deeply touched and that emotional feeling became greater and greater with the progression of the interview. There was a chapter on heart cancer in the book ¡°Cryosurgery for Cancer¡±. Heart! This was deemed a prohibited area. Yet Dr. Niu took the courage to venture into it. Dr. Niu pointed at a CT scan diagram in the book and showed this reporter three cases of heart cancer.
One of the three heart cancer patients was a seventeen years old girl from Beijing. She had pericardiac-vascularsarcoma. That was a very rare form of tumour and there were only seven recorded cases and all the seven patients did not live for more than three months. The girl received operations in Beijing but the tumor recurred three months later. She came to the GuangzhouFudaCancerHospital. Dr. Niu performed cryoablation therapy on her as well as iodine seed implantation therapy. Her condition improved significantly after the therapies. Unfortunately she died of heart and lung failures seventeen months later.When Dr. Niu talked about that Beijing girl, his voice hoarsened and there was a deep feeling of regret and sorrow in him. Tears came to his eyes.
But when he went on to talk about another patient from Hubei, he became excited again. That patient was a 67 years old lady who had malignant pericardiac sarcoma. Her family members had read news report on the cardiac sarcoma girl from Beijing who received treatments in the FudaCancerHospital. Without any hesitation they brought her to Guangzhou to receive treatments.