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As someone who has been living with pancreatic cancer for over three years, how do I break the curse of the "cancer king"

时间：2026-04-27　人气：

If you find it difficult to understand the subsequent professional descriptions, you can quickly read through this text within two minutes.

Mrs. Li is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the dreaded "king of all cancers." Many patients succumb to it within a year, yet she has now entered her third year. (There is also a pancreatic cancer patient who has been in the seventh year, and his assessment results will be displayed to everyone after they are released this year. Eager readers can view his case from last year by clicking

Exciting! How was it achieved that the pancreatic cancer has not recurred or metastasized in nearly five years? )

We have showcased her case for two consecutive years (click to view

1. We have followed this case for a year and discovered a new approach to combat pancreatic cancer, 2. "The king of all cancers," pancreatic cancer, is not untreatable! With proper treatment, long-term survival is possible ) , and the results in the third year remain remarkably stable! No signs of recurrence or metastasis have been observed!

Disease Overview

In December 2018, Mrs. Li rushed to the hospital for an examination due to sudden abdominal pain. CT scan of the abdominal and pelvic cavity revealed a low-attenuation mass shadow in the pancreatic body with rough edges, suggesting a possible pancreatic body cancer involving adjacent structures. Immediate open radical resection of the pancreatic body and tail was performed. Postoperative pathology showed moderate-to-poorly differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma. From June 25, 2019, to September 24, 2019, four cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy with gemcitabine and temozolomide were administered.

Related tumor trivia

►Malignant tumors often exhibit irregularities in imaging manifestations, with unclear boundaries and surrounding tissue demarcation, and some masses have spiculated edges. In contrast, benign lesions typically have clear edges and regular shapes. Imaging examinations have attracted the attention of doctors, who perform puncture biopsy. Pathology reveals poorly differentiated cancer infiltration. Poorly differentiated is a pathological classification of cells indicating a potentially poor prognosis. The lower the degree of differentiation, the closer the tumor cells are to stem cells and the greater the difference from normal cells. The division ability is also stronger, with stronger mutation ability, self-repair ability, and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

►Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor that is difficult to detect early in clinical practice, often presenting with metastasis at the time of diagnosis (currently, the early diagnosis rate of pancreatic cancer worldwide is only 5%), and has a very poor prognosis. Therefore, it is also known as the "king of cancers". According to epidemiological studies, there are 95,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer nationwide each year, with 85,000 deaths. The 3-year survival rate for patients after surgery is 21.1%^[1], and postoperative chemotherapy can improve it by 8%^[2]; The 5-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients in China is only 6%, and it is estimated that by 2030, pancreatic cancer will become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally.

Pancreatic cancer is highly malignant, and the follow-up results three months after Mrs. Li's surgery confirmed this - MR imaging showed suspicious abnormal signals in the residual pancreatic parenchyma, and the abnormal signals in the right lobe of the liver were similar to those previously observed. Meanwhile, the tumor marker CEA gradually increased and exceeded the normal range.

These follow-up results are not ideal, indicating a high likelihood of liver metastasis, and the previous chemotherapy did not effectively suppress the disease.

Once pancreatic cancer has extensive liver metastasis, the survival period is relatively limited. Mrs. Li's daughter, who is a teacher at a well-known university in Beijing and is very familiar with Tsinghua University, brought her mother to the office of Professor Zhang Minghui at the Tsinghua University School of Medicine to learn about NKT technology and several successful cases in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

After reviewing Mrs. Li's medical records, Professor Zhang Minghui made the following analysis and judgment:

1. Pancreatic cancer is highly malignant, and the patient's pathological type is complex - "moderately-poorly differentiated", "adenosquamous carcinoma", and also has "sarcomatoid" structures, which poses a high risk of subsequent recurrence and metastasis.
2. The patient developed postoperative peritoneal and pelvic effusion, which decreased after adjuvant chemotherapy but still persists, and should not be taken lightly.
3. The routine follow-up examination after chemotherapy for the patient revealed suspicious signals in the residual pancreas and right lobe of the liver. Combined with the elevated tumor marker, the possibility of disease progression in the patient has increased.
4. Although there are no visible lesions at present, the situation is precarious. This is the perfect time for NKT cell therapy to intervene ——when the tumor burden is at its lowest. NKT cells can kill residual tumor cells and prevent the aggregation of free cancer cells, effectively reducing the risk of metastasis and recurrence.

Mrs. Li underwent NKT cell immunotherapy in December 2019 and has completed 21 courses of treatment for a total of 22 months (as of October 2021).

From December 2019 to October 2021, Mrs. Li completed a total of 21 courses of treatment. No clear signs of tumor recurrence were observed through 6 follow-ups and imaging examinations, and the tumor marker CEA decreased to normal levels. This indicates that the previously high risk of recurrence and metastasis has been suppressed, with no obvious signs of tumor progression. Overall, the assessment is that she has achieved stability for 22 months!

A study with a large sample size in China showed that the 3-year survival rate for patients with pancreatic cancer after surgery is just over 1/5^[1], so Mrs. Li has now entered her third treatment year, with no signs of recurrence or metastasis. Therefore, the entire family is extremely happy with the efficacy of NKT cell immunotherapy!

Image aspect

Imaging: Abdominal CT reexamination on December 2021 showed no clear signs of tumor recurrence or metastasis. Follow-up examination revealed mild enlargement of lymph nodes between the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava, with no significant changes from September 2019 to December 2021; on June 16, 2021 (coronal view), suspicious lymph node enlargement was observed above and below the retroperitoneal aortic fossa, measuring approximately 9*5mm, not excluding normal structures. Reexamination on December 17, 2021 showed no significant changes.

Tumor markers

Tumor markers: CEA showed intermittent mild elevation from September 2019 to September 2021, and returned to normal range during a follow-up examination in December 2021; CA125 and CA19-9 were within normal range; NSE was slightly higher than normal in December 2021, with regular follow-up examinations recommended.

Quality of Life

Mrs. Li reported that she has more energy than before. When she first finished the surgery, she needed assistance to walk and her quality of life score was only 78. Now, her appetite has improved, her quality of life has been greatly enhanced, and she even rides a shared bicycle to and from treatment. She reported that colds and fever in spring and winter have decreased compared to before, and her quality of life is excellent, with a score of 90.5.

Conclusion Discussion

Mrs. Li is currently undergoing NKT cell therapy. Two years have passed, and the latest assessment result remains stable with no progression observed. NKT therapy has achieved excellent control effects on pancreatic cancer, a highly lethal malignant tumor.

References:

[1] Jin Gang, Shao Zhuo, Hu Xiangui, Zhang Yijie, Liu Rui, Zhou Yingqi, Shao Chenghao, He Tianlin, Li Gang, Jing Wei, Song Bin. Analysis of the efficacy and prognosis of surgical operations in 2061 cases of pancreatic cancer [J]. Chinese Journal of Pancreatology, 2013(01):1-4.

[2] Zeng Weiwei, Zhang Xianquan. Meta-analysis of the long-term efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy and surgery alone for pancreatic cancer [J]. China Clinical Oncology, 2011, 38(21):1346-1350.

Popular science knowledge is provided for reference only. For individual patients, clinical treatment should be followed.

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