New progress in screening and treatment of lung cancer in Hai Duong

Artificial intelligence applications

On the morning of December 11, patient Le Van Hung (60 years old) came to Hai Duong Lung Hospital for examination with symptoms such as prolonged cough, fatigue... He was taken to the Department of Diagnostic Imaging for an X-ray combined with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Less than 1 minute after the scan, technician Pham Tuan Hai pointed to the computer screen and told me: "Artificial intelligence determined that Mr. Hung's left lung had fibrosis at the apex of the clavicle, 97% likely to have pulmonary tuberculosis. The beauty of this technology is that immediately after the scan, an image of the patient's lungs will appear, determining the location of the lesion, describing it and concluding whether the lesion is cancerous or not. Of course, the machine's conclusion is for reference only, doctors must perform other screening tests to confirm. However, the application of artificial intelligence to this work has brought about clear progress and effectiveness in screening and treating lung cancer".

Before applying modern medical techniques, screening and diagnosing lung cancer at Hai Duong Lung Hospital mainly relied on conventional X-ray results, which was very difficult and time-consuming. Doctors mainly looked with the naked eye to diagnose lung lesions on X-ray films, then had to send them to the Central Lung Hospital for testing and confirmation testing. Conventional lung X-rays can only detect large lesions, making it difficult to detect small lesions. Now it is different, the application of modern diagnostic imaging technology combined with high-resolution computed tomography, thin-layer technology, and artificial intelligence applications... helps doctors at Hai Duong Lung Hospital easily detect small lesions in the lungs of only 3 mm and accurately determine the location of the lesions. From here, doctors use a medical needle to insert into the damaged lung to take cell and histopathological samples for on-site confirmation testing using the anatomy testing system.

Dr. Nguyen Van Luu, Director of Hai Duong Lung Hospital, said that recently the hospital has also been equipped with a pleural endoscope and bronchoscope. For tumors located deep inside the lungs and bronchi, doctors will use an endoscope to view images directly, make accurate assessments and use appropriate diagnostic testing techniques, minimizing damage to the patient. "Based on the results of on-site tests, doctors will advise patients on the most effective treatment or palliative intervention," Dr. Luu informed.

In the treatment of lung cancer at Hai Duong Lung Hospital, doctors have now applied targeted therapy, which means using drugs to treat the mutated gene that causes cancer. Another method is immunotherapy, but it has not been implemented yet because it requires a large amount of funding. In general, most of the technical advances in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer have been and are being mastered by doctors here. This has contributed to significantly reducing the number of patients who have to be transferred to central hospitals.

Orientation of establishing Department of Surgery

Dr. Luu said that the biggest disadvantage of Hai Duong Lung Hospital compared to the Central level in lung cancer treatment is that it has not yet established a Department of Surgery (cancer treatment by surgery). Therefore, patients who are indicated for surgery to remove tumors still have to be transferred to a higher level.

For many years, Hai Duong Lung Hospital has had the orientation to establish the above department to comprehensively meet the screening and treatment of lung cancer patients. This orientation is completely correct when the number of cancer patients in general, lung cancer in particular, is increasing. Maybe in the future, the hospital will have a Department of Surgery, but at this time it is very difficult. To establish this department, it is necessary to build more facilities, purchase equipment, machinery and especially recruit qualified and experienced surgeons, anesthesiologists, and thoracic surgeons. Since implementing financial autonomy, Hai Duong Lung Hospital has encountered many difficulties, the main source of income is to serve people, the budget for purchasing machinery and medical equipment is very little. Some of the modern machinery the hospital has is supported by the National Tuberculosis Prevention Program.

Master, Doctor Nguyen Cong Dai, Deputy Head of the Oncology Department of Hai Duong Lung Hospital, said that the hospital's medical staff is always actively studying, improving their qualifications, and accessing modern medical techniques. However, the lack of equipment and machinery is a major barrier that makes it difficult for the staff to develop their abilities and strengths, and makes them feel insecure about their work... This will affect the cancer prevention strategy at present and possibly in the future.