A slender catheter, like a key in the explorer's hand, gently traverses through tortuous blood vessels and reaches deep into the liver tumor. With a gentle push, millions to tens of millions of yttrium-90 resin microspheres are precisely injected into the interior of the tumor. The person who operates all of this is named Shao Haibo. He is the director of the Interventional Therapy Department at the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University and the first doctor in Northeast China to carry out Yttrium 90 treatment for liver cancer patients. The patient is a 77 year old man. Three and a half months after the surgery, the latest follow-up results showed that the elderly's tumor had shrunk by nearly half. Over time, tumors in the body may gradually shrink until they eventually disappear. However, the elderly are still not particularly clear about what happened. The occurrence of liver cancer is related to hepatitis, especially hepatitis B. After many patients are infected, they gradually develop into cirrhosis over many years and eventually become liver cancer. On the occasion of the 14th World Hepatitis Day on July 28th this year, the grandson of the elderly, Yang Hua, told Zhongxin Health about their family's battle against cancer. The starting point of concealing the story was a seemingly ordinary physical examination three years ago. At the end of November 2022, Yang Hua took his grandfather Lin Feng for a physical examination. After diagnosis and treatment in the hospital, bile duct stones were discovered and a two centimeter sized liver mass was also found. Immediately after, the diagnosis issued by the hospital showed 'malignant liver tumor'. When the diagnosis report was placed in front of them, Yang Hua's family seemed to have suffered a bolt from the blue. Liver cancer, this heavy word, instantly shattered the peace of the family. My grandfather used to work in a state-owned factory in Shenyang. Due to work reasons, he often had social gatherings, and when he was young, he would never give up smoking and drinking. After retirement, he took his grandson to study in another city and lived with his son and daughter-in-law. On weekdays, my daughter, Yang Hua's mother, often comes to take care of her. Due to the personality of being a unit leader and head of the family for many years, as well as the reality of advanced age, the family chose to keep their illness hidden for now. We told him it was just a cyst and needed some treatment, "Yang Hua said. Shao Haibo told Zhongxin Health that liver cancer usually does not show too many clinical symptoms before reaching the middle and late stages, so patients often do not realize that their condition has worsened. In December 2022, the elderly underwent surgery for bile duct stones, and at the same time, doctors found that the small tumor in the body, which was originally 2.5 centimeters long, had grown to 5 centimeters. In just one month, the tumor doubled in size. The hidden onset and rapid progression of the disease caused by nuclear explosions are important characteristics of liver cancer. Data shows that in China, 70% to 80% of liver cancer patients have lost the opportunity for surgery at the time of diagnosis, and the five-year overall survival rate of liver cancer patients in China is only 14.1%. Shao Haibo introduced that the main treatment methods for liver cancer patients at present are surgical resection and liver transplantation. For liver cancer patients who cannot undergo surgery, intervention therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy and other treatment methods are adopted to prolong the patient's survival as much as possible. Initially, considering the patient's advanced age and underlying medical conditions, the surgical risk was high. The doctor began to try using targeted drugs for treatment, and soon after, a series of side effects such as dizziness and vomiting began to torment the elderly. During this period, routine intervention therapy was also performed, but the effect was not satisfactory. At the same time, family members still carefully guard this secret and prevent the elderly from knowing their true condition. Whenever an elderly person asks about their physical condition, their family always tries to answer in a relaxed tone: "It's okay, just a small problem, it will get better soon." As the condition progresses, Yang Hua and her family begin to seek more advanced treatment methods. As a practitioner at the intersection of artificial intelligence and medicine, he has long heard of the technology of Yttrium 90 for treating liver cancer. In order to help Grandpa find a suitable solution as soon as possible, he went through a lot of literature and materials. Even Professor Shao Haibo, the later attending physician, said that it was rare to see family members of patients who understood the condition so well. Yttrium 90 is a therapeutic radioactive nuclide. Through interventional techniques, resin microspheres carrying Yttrium 90 radioactive nuclide are delivered into the tumor through the hepatic artery, and high-dose radiation is given to the tumor at close range to kill liver cancer cells. It has high radiation energy and short penetration distance, which can accurately strike tumor tissue and cause minimal damage to normal liver tissue. Clinical literature data shows that the median survival time of advanced liver cancer patients with portal vein thrombosis is 2.7 months, and the median survival time after treatment with yttrium-90 resin microspheres reaches 2.2 years. In addition, treatment with yttrium 90 resin microspheres can also shrink tumors and provide patients with the opportunity for surgery again. Patients who can undergo liver transplantation after treatment with yttrium 90 resin microspheres have a median survival time of 12.5 years. The First Hospital of China Medical University is currently the only unit in Northeast China that can carry out Yttrium 90 treatment, and it is also one of the first centers in China to carry out Yttrium 90 treatment. In June 2022, the first Yttrium 90 Microsphere Interventional Surgery at the hospital was completed under the leadership of Shao Haibo from the Interventional Therapy Department. Based on the elderly's condition, Shao Haibo's team developed a treatment plan and decided to use Yttrium 90 Resin Microspheres Selective Internal Radiation Therapy technology. Without any hesitation or evasion, the Yang Hua family decided to stand hand in hand and face it together. On the day of the surgery, the entire family gathered outside the operating room, silently praying for the elderly. The surgery went very smoothly, and Yttrium 90 resin microspheres accurately entered the tumor area inside Lin Feng's body. Microspheres are like tiny and tough warriors, carrying high-energy beta rays and camping inside tumors, releasing powerful forces capable of destroying cancer cells, while surrounding normal liver tissue is successfully 'exempted'. All of this is happening quietly without the elderly realizing it. After being discharged, the elderly person's condition has remained relatively stable. With the care of his family, Yang Hua's impression of the always resolute and energetic grandfather seems to have returned. However, the treatment of liver cancer is still full of challenges. Professor Shao Haibo said that the condition of liver cancer in different individuals may vary greatly, and targeted treatment plans are often needed. Yttrium 90, as a powerful weapon in liver cancer treatment, also needs to be comprehensively evaluated in order to be the strongest "enemy" and protect "comrades" to the greatest extent possible! In order for the "nuclear bomb" to accurately strike tumors without harming liver tissue, a team of experts needs to conduct rigorous evaluations of liver blood vessels, lung shunts, Yttrium-90 doses, and other factors. Shao Haibo also stated that patients with liver cancer at different stages can actually receive treatment with Yttrium 90 resin microspheres. Early patients can undergo radical treatment, avoiding surgery and achieving a cure. Patients in the middle and late stages can use Yttrium 90 for phase reduction, tumor shrinkage, liver enlargement, and disappearance of portal vein cancer thrombus, in order to strive for surgical resection or liver transplantation opportunities and enable patients to overcome cancer. For liver cancer patients with high recurrence risk factors, yttrium-90 resin microspheres can also be used for neoadjuvant therapy, followed by surgical resection to reduce the risk of recurrence. The road to fighting against the disease is obviously still long, and Yang Hua and her family are also prepared for it. As a scientific researcher, Yang Hua witnessed for the first time such a close competition between courage and wisdom, and the perfect integration of technology and life. He said. I hope that more innovative therapies like Yttrium 90 resin microspheres can benefit more patients. At the same time, he firmly believes that with the joint support of his family and doctors, Grandpa will be able to overcome the illness and regain his health. (New Society)