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Cui Fang Bo
Oncology
About me
Specializing in the clinical and scientific research of anticancer drugs, especially targeted therapies. Serving as the principal investigator, leading a project funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. As the first author, published multiple academic papers, including 6 English-language papers indexed in SCI, with the highest impact factor being 6.49.
Proficient in diseases
Treatment with anticancer drugs, especially the use of targeted therapy for tumors.
Voices
Can liver cysts turn into liver cancer?
Liver blisters are a colloquial term often referring to cysts in the liver. Modern medicine considers liver cysts to be a degenerative change and a benign lesion that does not undergo malignant transformation or develop into liver cancer. Primary liver cancer mainly includes two types: hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma within the liver. Additionally, there is metastatic liver cancer, which is caused by the metastasis of malignant tumors from other parts of the body to the liver, commonly including liver metastases from colon cancer, lung cancer, etc. Whether primary or secondary metastatic cancer, these liver conditions are distinctively different from liver cysts in imaging studies. Identification is not difficult through examinations such as color Doppler ultrasound, CT, or MRI.
What should be done about melanoma brain metastasis?
After melanoma metastasizes to the brain, it requires early treatment, which mainly includes the following measures: First, general supportive care, such as using mannitol or glycerol fructose to reduce intracranial pressure and alleviate symptoms like headache, nausea, and vomiting if increased intracranial pressure occurs after brain metastasis; Second, local treatment, such as whole brain radiotherapy or precise Gamma Knife surgery, to control the intracranial lesion after brain metastasis; Third, systemic treatment, as melanoma with brain metastases indicates stage IV disease, requiring control of the condition through systemic treatments including chemotherapy, targeted drug therapy, and immunotherapy.
Why does advanced liver cancer cause itching on the body?
Liver cancer itself does not cause itchy skin, but itchy skin can appear in advanced liver cancer patients due to some complications. Firstly, when liver cancer encroaches on the hepatic portal area, it can invade or compress the biliary system, causing obstruction of the biliary system and increased bilirubin in the blood, which leads to generalized itching. When liver cancer patients also have fungal or parasitic infections of the skin, itching can also occur. Additionally, when liver cancer patients undergo chemotherapy, targeted molecular therapy, or other systemic anti-tumor treatments, they may experience generalized itching due to allergies to medications. In some cases where the allergic reactions are severe, symptoms such as a drop in blood pressure and other manifestations of anaphylactic shock can occur, necessitating prompt treatment.
Can late-stage pancreatic cancer cause vomiting blood?
For patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, there is a possibility of vomiting blood. Vomiting blood is one of the manifestations of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. In some cases, patients with pancreatic cancer may experience upper gastrointestinal bleeding: 1. Stress ulcers, in patients with advanced tumors, sometimes occur due to extreme physical debilitation, leading to stress ulcers. These ulcers cause localized erosion of the gastric mucosa, eventually leading to bleeding; 2. Thrombocytopenia, for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, most need to undergo systemic chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can suppress the function of the bone marrow, leading to a reduction in peripheral white blood cells and platelets. When platelets decrease to a certain level, the body's clotting functions may be impaired, concurrently leading to upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
How long does it take for melanoma to progress to the late stage?
The time for melanoma to progress to an advanced stage is not fixed, and currently, the internal oncology community views melanoma as a highly malignant tumor that develops rapidly. Melanoma is a malignant tumor originating from melanocytes and can occur in multiple parts of the body, with the most common sites being the skin and mucous membranes, accounting for about 70%. Once diagnosed, patients with melanoma are still primarily considered for surgical treatment. For those who have undergone surgery, immunotherapy can be used for consolidation. For patients who are not candidates for surgery at the time of diagnosis, systemic treatments such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy are generally adopted to control the progression of the disease.
Is the right shoulder pain from liver cancer persistent?
For patients with liver cancer, if there is pain in the right shoulder, it is not necessarily continuous, which depends on the specific cause of the right shoulder pain. If the pain is caused by bone metastasis of liver cancer to the right shoulder, the pain is often severe and persistent. Bone is one of the more common sites of metastasis for liver cancer. For bone metastases of liver cancer, we can use imaging studies to detect clear bone destruction at the metastatic sites on X-rays, CT scans, and MRI. If the right shoulder pain in liver cancer patients is caused by other benign conditions, the pain may not necessarily be persistent. For instance, liver cancer patients may also experience shoulder pain due to other conditions such as rotator cuff injuries, periarthritis, or minor trauma, but this pain is not necessarily continuous.
Can melanoma be cured if it is excised early?
For patients with early-stage melanoma, if complete excision is achieved after surgical removal, some patients can be cured. Melanoma originates from melanocytes, which are malignant tumors. Melanocytes are distributed throughout the body, hence melanoma can occur in multiple parts of the body, primarily in the skin and mucous membranes, accounting for about 70% of cases. For early-stage melanoma, the main treatment method is still surgical excision. For patients with deeper melanoma infiltration, regional lymph node dissection is also necessary. After radical excision, treatments such as immunotherapy can be administered to consolidate the effects of the therapy, and some of the patients who complete these treatments can be cured.
Has rectal cancer progressed to the advanced stage with vomiting?
Patients with rectal cancer who experience vomiting do not necessarily indicate that their condition has reached an advanced stage; the situation needs to be differentiated and treated accordingly. If nausea and vomiting are due to the gastrointestinal side effects of antitumor treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, it is unrelated to the severity of rectal cancer. Appropriate antiemetic treatment can provide significant relief. If a rectal cancer patient experiences projectile vomiting due to brain metastases, which lead to an increase in intracranial pressure, it indicates that the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. Some rectal cancer patients may also experience vomiting due to gastrointestinal obstruction caused by the tumor, accompanied by cessation of bowel movements and gas, which are also signs of advanced disease.
Melanoma stage IV is the fourth stage.
Melanoma stage IV refers to the fourth stage of melanoma, where IV represents the Roman numeral for 4. Stage IV melanoma means that the melanoma is no longer confined to the local lesion but has metastasized to distant organs. The most common locations for melanoma include the skin and mucous membranes, with typical metastatic sites including the lungs, brain, liver, etc. Once diagnosed as stage IV, there are no indications for surgical treatment. Treatment primarily involves a comprehensive approach combining chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.
What are the early symptoms of thyroid cancer?
The most common clinical symptom of thyroid cancer in its early stages is an abnormal lump in the neck. Additionally, some patients may experience symptoms related to abnormal thyroid function. Thyroid cancer is currently a malignant tumor with a relatively high incidence rate globally and in China. There are four pathological types of thyroid cancer: papillary carcinoma, follicular carcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, and medullary carcinoma. Among these, papillary carcinoma is the most common and has the best prognosis. For patients presenting with an abnormal neck lump and thyroid function abnormalities, the diagnosis of thyroid cancer should be considered. Diagnosis can be confirmed through tissue obtained by biopsy or surgical excision for pathological examination. For patients with confirmed diagnoses of thyroid cancer, surgery is the preferred treatment method.