Targeted drugs for blood cancer treatment are now covered by insurance

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the National Hematology and Blood Transfusion Scientific Conference, Dr. Bach Quoc Khanh, former Director of the Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, said that to treat blood cancer, other treatment methods have been developed to increase the main effect, specificity and reduce side effects.

According to Dr. Bach Quoc Khanh, in the future, the two methods of using targeted drugs and cell therapy will replace chemotherapy. In the US, some regimens have completely used targeted drugs without chemotherapy.

Dr. Bach Quoc Khanh, former Director of the Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, informed the press about the treatment of blood cancer.

With targeted drugs, when introduced into the body, they will target cancer cells to destroy them completely, without being as toxic as chemotherapy, and without affecting healthy cells.

"Cell therapy offers hope for a cure for leukemia. The rate of patients with some leukemias treated with this method who can live for more than 10 years is up to 70-80%. In addition, targeted drugs are also being actively developed," said Dr. Bach Quoc Khanh.

Every year, Vietnam has nearly 6,300 new cases of leukemia, with the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion alone detecting about 1,500 cases, including both children and adults. The Institute's Chemotherapy Department regularly has 250 patients with malignant blood diseases undergoing treatment.

Up to now, the Institute has implemented quite well the targeted drug method, some drugs are covered by insurance. With cell therapy, the Institute is cooperating with foreign experts to transfer technology, develop therapy to infuse patients with more specific cells, which are lymphocytes with immune competence, which can destroy cancer cells.

The Institute has also performed stem cell transplants for nearly 600 cases of malignant blood diseases, including about 400 cases of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants (from siblings, umbilical cord blood or parents).

However, according to Dr. Bach Quoc Khanh, stem cell transplantation is not a cure for leukemia but a method to help patients overcome high-dose, strong chemotherapy treatments. Accordingly, chemotherapy is a basic method of cancer treatment. The higher and stronger the dose, the more cancer cells can be killed and life can be prolonged. However, the more the main effect, the higher the side effects. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation helps reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.

"The prognosis for leukemia patients depends on each type of disease. If only treated with chemotherapy, the survival rate over 5 years is only 20%, increasing to 50% with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation" - Dr. Bach Quoc Khanh", Dr. Bach Quoc Khanh said.

According to VOV