Treatment of stage 4 pancreatic cancer in Germany
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Pancreatic cancer (ICD C25) is one of the most common gastrointestinal cancers. More than 300,000 new cases are diagnosed in the world every year. This tumor accounts for 3% of all cancers, which is a fairly high figure. The treatment methods offered in Germany allow for achieving excellent results, even at stage 4 of the pathology.
Content
- Standard treatment and its risks
- New treatment methods for stage 4 pancreatic cancer in Germany
- Symptomatic treatment
- Why is it worth undergoing treatment in German oncology hospitals?
- Leading hospitals and the cost of stage 4 cancer treatment in Germany
- How to undergo treatment in Germany?
Treatment options include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and palliative care. Advanced treatments like Nano-Knife and participation in clinical trials may also be available, offering hope for improved outcomes.
Benefits include access to cutting-edge treatments, experienced specialists, and comprehensive care plans tailored to individual patient needs. German clinics often offer innovative therapies and clinical trials not widely available elsewhere.
Effectiveness is monitored through regular imaging tests, blood tests, and clinical evaluations. These assessments help doctors determine the impact of the therapy and make necessary adjustments.
Risks depend on the specific treatment but can include side effects such as nausea, fatigue, and increased susceptibility to infections. Close monitoring and supportive care help manage these risks.
While a cure for stage 4 pancreatic cancer is rare, advanced treatments in Germany can help manage the disease, prolong life, and improve quality of life. Treatment aims to control the cancer and alleviate symptoms.
Standard treatment and its risks
Stage four pancreatic cancer (sometimes incorrectly referred to as grade 4 pancreatic cancer) is diagnosed when a tumor is no longer localized: it invades into the surrounding organs and spreads distant metastases.
The main treatment methods are chemotherapy and radiation therapy. This type of pathology can not be treated with surgery, and therefore, doctors use various procedures to alleviate the patient's condition and eliminate complications. The use of classical treatment algorithms entails certain risks, such as:
- When carrying out radiation therapy, good results can be achieved only with the use of high doses of radiation, but this is quite difficult, since standard methods of radiation therapy have severe side effects. There are many other organs near the pancreas, which can be damaged by the radiation;
- Classical chemotherapy for IV stage pancreatic cancer has a toxic effect on the healthy tissue and causes severe side effects;
- All standard protocols require a long treatment course and are very expensive;
- Almost all standard procedures have an unstable effect.
Germany uses improved standard treatment methods and advanced medical protocols, which are more effective and demonstrate high survival rates in patients.
New treatment methods for stage 4 pancreatic cancer in Germany
New treatments for pancreatic cancer stage 4 help patients to improve the quality of their life and condition, and prevents the development of complications or gets rid of them. Embolization and chemoembolization of metastases are used for local control of a tumor and an increase in life expectancy. Drug therapy involves not only chemotherapy, but also targeted therapy and immunotherapy. German doctors also pay due attention to the treatment of symptoms.
Embolization of metastases in Germany
The embolization technique aims to block the blood vessels supplying the pancreatic tumor and its metastases. For this purpose, doctors use emboli in their medical practice. Emboli are various chemicals.
Recently, German doctors have increasingly used one specific variation of the procedure – selective transarterial chemoembolization. This method involves the introduction of microspheres imbued with chemotherapy drugs as emboli.
Chemoembolization in cancer treatment contributes to the cessation of blood flow in the tumor, which leads to oxygen starvation of the cancer cells and therefore, their death. In addition, an embolus gradually releases a large number of chemotherapy drugs, which destroy the tumor and prevent its repeated growth.
This method has the following advantages:
- It reduces the tumor size, so that it is possible to perform surgery;
- It increases the stage 4 pancreatic cancer survival rates;
- The procedure is absolutely safe – side effects develop in only 2-5% of cases and they can be easily eliminated with the help of symptomatic treatment;
- It allows the use of an increased concentration of chemotherapy drugs, which cannot be applied in a case of systemic chemotherapy due to their high toxicity;
- Antineoplastic drugs affect only the pathological focus, whilst leaving healthy cells intact;
- It does not require a long rehabilitation period.
To perform the procedure, doctors first inject the contrast agent and assess its distribution in the vessels using X-ray imaging. A microcatheter is then inserted into the vessels, through which the emboli are delivered to the target arteries.
Embolization is most often performed through transfemoral access – the doctor makes an incision in the groin area. If this access cannot be used, the doctor can also insert a catheter through the axillary or brachial artery. In some hospitals, the procedure is performed through the radial artery, which reduces the risk of local complications by 3 times and does not require bed rest afterwards. If the patient has liver metastases, the hepatic artery will be blocked by emboli.
Radiation therapy for the treatment of stage 4 pancreatic cancer in Germany
Radiation therapy for pancreatic cancer treatment at the fourth stage allows doctors to control the disease and reduce the severity of negative clinical signs. The irradiation of metastases in distant organs is often also carried out.
In order to use high doses of radiation without the risk of side effects, Germany uses the very latest radiation therapy methods. The most popular of these is stereotactic 3D conformal radiation therapy, which has the following advantages:
- It accurately acts on the tissues affected by cancer, without involving healthy parts of the body in the process;
- It allows the doctor to accurately determine the amount of radiation and control the process using computed tomography;
- It allows the specialists to modulate the intensity of the beams;
- The procedure is performed with high-tech equipment;
- Patients tolerate the procedure well and recover quickly;
- The method is versatile and can help even in severe cases.
Some German hospitals also offer proton therapy, which is the most modern method of radiation therapy. It is distinguished as a combination of high efficiency, and a sparing effect on the human body. Proton therapy uses protons, not X-rays, as an energy source. Such an approach minimizes the risks of post-radiation complications.
Targeted therapy for the treatment of stage 4 pancreatic cancer in Germany
In modern medicine, targeted therapy is becoming more and more popular. This is drug therapy that affects the cellular mechanisms of tumors. The fact is, cancer cells can contain many protein molecules, which support their growth and multiplication. They appear due to specific mutations in genes. Medicines can block the activity of such molecules and therefore, reduce the tumor size. Targeted therapy works especially well when it is combined with chemotherapy.
To treat stage 4 pancreatic cancer, doctors in Germany use EGFR inhibitors, drugs which block the activity of the EGFR protein. This protein is responsible for the rapid growth of the cancer cells. Therefore, as a result, the tumor grows slowly and stabilizes in size. This drug is taken in the form of tablets, once a day.
If the NTRK gene has mutations, the treatment may involve the use of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors. The drugs in this group block the activity of growth factors, which are required for cellular activity. They started to be used fairly recently: since 2018 in the United States, and since 2019 in Europe.
Immunotherapy for the treatment of stage 4 pancreatic cancer in Germany
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is rarely characterized by MMR gene mutations and unusual types of molecular pathogenesis of the tumor – microsatellite instability (MSI-H). However, in such cases, it is possible to use immunotherapy, a treatment with drugs from the group of checkpoint inhibitors. The active substances of these drugs are able to block certain molecules on the surface of the cancer cells, allowing the tumor to avoid an immune attack.
Checkpoint inhibitors (blockers) do not damage cancer cells. They only reduce the ability of the tumor to conceal itself from the immune system. Therefore, this therapy does not cause any complications and is well tolerated. When combined with chemotherapy, this treatment demonstrates excellent results – the tumor is reduced in size and well controlled.
Other methods of immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer stage 4 can also be used within the framework of clinical investigations. These include antibodies acting on the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), as well as anti-cancer vaccines based on dendritic cells.
Symptomatic treatment
At the advanced stage of pancreatic cancer, patients often have jaundice, pain, and bowel obstruction in the duodenum. In such cases, it is advisable to carry out symptomatic treatments of complications.
Narcotic analgesics are usually used to relieve pain, but since such drugs give a clinical effect only in 30% of cases, most patients also undergo various procedures and surgical interventions.
The following methods allow the doctors to achieve a stable analgesic effect:
- Chemical neurolysis is the destruction of the celiac plexus by special substances. The procedure can be used independently or during surgery to eliminate jaundice. The effectiveness of the procedure is more than 80%. The pain does not return for 4-5 weeks;
- Thoracoscopic splanchnicectomy is a minimally invasive surgery to remove both large and small celiac nerves. It is performed through small incisions in the thorax. The intervention is an option to choose if chemical neurolysis is ineffective. The method always gives positive results, and the effect lasts for more than 3 months in 70% of patients.
The tumor at stage 4 compresses the bile ducts, so pancreatic head cancer always causes jaundice. There is a large number of operations and minimally invasive procedures for its treatment:
- Surgery involves the formation of biliodigestive anastomosis – an additional bypass for the outflow of bile into the intestine;
- Percutaneous puncture and endoscopic procedures are used to allow bile to drain out into the intestine or to dilate the bile ducts with a stent (a metal hollow tube, which is inserted into the affected duct).
In some patients, the malignant tumor compresses the duodenum. In this case, to restore its patency, doctors perform stent implantation or form a bypass (anastomosis) to provide the free movement of food masses into the lower intestines.
Why is it worth undergoing treatment in German oncology hospitals?
Patients from all over the world can undergo high-quality cancer treatment in German hospitals. In most cases, therapy at the advanced stages of pancreatic cancer is successful – doctors prolong the life of patients, improve its quality and pancreatic cancer prognosis. This is possible due to the following conditions:
- Modern diagnostics – molecular genetic tests of cancer cells, which allow doctors to individually select an effective treatment method;
- The best equipment and advanced cancer therapy options – German hospitals have modern equipment and the very latest drugs;
- Innovative methods – German hospitals constantly develop and implement new therapeutic approaches for cancer treatment;
- Leading specialists – prior to obtaining a license, German oncologists undergo long training and internships in the best medical facilities in the world.
Every year, Germany’s government allocates huge funds to the development of the medical sector, which enables the high level of medicine in Germany.
Leading hospitals and the cost of stage 4 cancer treatment in Germany
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is treated by a tumor board, which includes gastroenterologists, oncologists and surgeons. As a rule, such tumor boards are only available in large university hospitals:
- University Hospital Duesseldorf, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectology
- University Hospital of Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- University Hospital Ulm, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- University Hospital Frankfurt-am-Main, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Pulmonology, Allergology, Endocrinology and Diabetology
- University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Gastroenterology, Hematology, Oncology, Hepatology, Infectology, Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology
The cost of the main types of treatment are as follows:
How to undergo treatment in Germany?
To undergo high-quality treatment for stage 4 cancer in leading European hospitals, you can use the services of Booking Health, an international medical tourism organizer.
Booking Health offers the following services for personalized terminal and late-stage pancreatic cancer treatment in Germany:
- Individual selection of a diagnostic and treatment program at an oncology hospital in Germany
- Preparation of a medical program, taking into account previously performed diagnostics and treatment procedures
- Reduced cost of treatment – prices will be reduced due to the lack of additional coefficients for foreign patients
- Preliminary consultation with a doctor
- Doctor's early appointment on the most suitable dates
- Preparation of the required documents
- Provision of insurance against unforeseen complications
- Monitoring of the medical program at all its stages
- Control of invoices and return of any unspent funds
- Assistance in buying and forwarding medicines
- Prompt organization of additional therapeutic and rehabilitation procedures
- Buying airline tickets, booking apartments or a hotel, meeting you at the airport and transfers
- Communication with the attending physician after returning home
You can find out more information about the treatment programs in Europe and the average cost of treatment by sending your request on the official bookinghealth.com website.
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Authors:
The article was edited by medical experts, board certified doctors Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova and Alexandra Solovey. For the treatment of the conditions referred to in the article, you must consult a doctor; the information in the article is not intended for self-medication!
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