Going to the United States for medical treatment has become a new driving force for China immigrants

According to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO), lung cancer is the most common malignant tumor in the world, accounting for 65,438+09.4% of cancer deaths. Because of poor tobacco control, lung cancer is also the leading cause of cancer death in China. It is estimated that by 2025, the number of lung cancer patients in China will reach 1 10,000, making it the country with the largest number of lung cancer patients in the world. Although the 5-year survival rate of lung cancer in China is 16. 1%, which is very close to the United States, the overall level of cancer treatment in China is close to the world level, while the mortality rate is higher than the world level. Data show that the 5-year survival rate of cancer patients in the United States is 60% to 70%, while that of cancer patients in China is only about 30%.

The following is the true story of an ordinary lung cancer patient who went to the United States for medical treatment and was finally reborn, as reported by China Newsweek:

There is no cure for advanced lung cancer in China, and I am determined to go to the United States for the last time.

When Li Minglei, 38, was in a well-known 3A hospital in Beijing, the doctor here told him that he belonged to? Stage IV lung cancer, only conservative treatment, no chance for surgery? . The staging given by the doctor means that he is in the late stage of lung cancer, with distant metastasis, and his life may only be in the second half of the year, which makes him fall into despair.

During the next two courses of chemotherapy, Li Minglei was too weak to turn over on her own.

Biopsy and genetic testing found that the exact cause of cancer in Li Minglei was EGFR 19 gene mutation. He said:? At home, this situation is almost incurable. However, in the United States, there was a second-generation specific drug for EGFR 19 gene mutation, and the clinical trial of the third-generation drug AZD929 1 had reached the third phase. ? So he decided to go to America? Take a chance? .

67% of patients were changed in the United States.

After preparing a series of very professional medical records, Li Minglei chose Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the top general hospitals in the United States. After going to the United States as scheduled, he went to the hospital the day after he arrived in Boston. The American doctor called him? Dr. Lee? , got up and shook hands with him. The oncologist also made an appointment for him with a thoracic surgeon to discuss the treatment plan.

Contrary to the opinions of domestic doctors, American doctors told Li Minglei that after targeted drug therapy was effective, the remaining primary lesions could be operated again. Subsequently, the treatment plan given by doctors in the United States has changed a lot from that in China before.

In fact, relevant survey results show that 67% of China patients' treatment plans have changed after going to the United States for medical treatment. One of the reasons is that clinical medicine in the United States is moving towards? Precision medicine? In the development direction, a patient is often treated by doctors from multiple disciplines. What do they believe in this concept? No two lung cancer patients have the same treatment plan? .

There are great differences between Chinese and American clinical trials.

2014165438+16 October, Li Minglei took the first second-generation targeted drug-afatinib, which had been on the market in the United States for one year at that time, but had not been introduced in China. Li Minglei clearly remembers that after taking the medicine for 5 weeks, PET-CT showed that the metastatic lesions on the spine and ribs disappeared, and the primary lesions in the lungs also decreased by 60%.

Less than a year later, doctors found that Li Minglei had developed resistance to afatinib, and puncture examination showed that his drug resistance gene had a mutation. However, this just meets the standard of AZD929 1 clinical trial, and it has reached the third phase.

It took Li Minglei only one month to apply for the experiment and formally joined the group. Before applying, the doctor fully informed the risks and possible side effects of the drug, and he signed the authorization agreement without hesitation.

In the United States, it is almost impossible for doctors to add signatures, inspection records or even test results. Generally speaking, once the trial scheme is determined, very subtle scheme changes need to be reported to the FDA actively, even if the infusion time of a patient changes from 1 hour to 2 hours.

Desperate cancer patients are finally reborn.

After taking AZD929 1 for about two weeks, Li Minglei found that his breathing was smooth again and his bones no longer hurt. ? Unfortunately? What's more, AZD929 1 was approved for listing in the United States after only three months of free trial treatment. Since then, a month's consumption has cost 1 more than ten thousand dollars.

Now, Li Minglei can go back to work, but he needs to go to the United States every three months to review and prescribe medicine. Boston, a historic city, is a famous higher education and medical center in the United States, and it has also become a place of hope for Li Minglei.

His American doctor is not worried that he will develop drug resistance again. He himself believes that although going to the United States for treatment is expensive, the continuous research and development of new drugs can make him one step ahead in the race against cancer.

In Li Minglei's view, the standardized, rigorous and meticulous drug testing process in the United States not only allowed him to see the bright future of precision medical care; As a domestic doctor, it was also found in the medical environment of the United States? Dignity as a patient? .

Going to the United States for medical treatment has become a new motivation for immigrants.

Relevant market survey results show that about 3,000 patients in China go to the United States for medical treatment every year, of which 70% are cancer patients. When the existing drugs are effective, it is not the first choice for patients to participate in clinical trials. However, once patients develop resistance to anti-tumor drugs, clinical trials of new drugs in the United States are likely to be their last resort.

The White Paper on Cross-border Medical Care for High-net-worth Persons in China released recently shows that overseas medical examination and overseas medical treatment have become the most selected cross-border medical channels for high-net-worth persons in China, and overseas medical treatment has become one of the main purposes of immigrants.

The medical level of the United States is the highest in the world today, and it is also the country with the most perfect medical resources and medical security system. Therefore, going to the United States for medical treatment has become a new motivation for immigrants in recent years.