Taipei Veterans General Hospital yesterday announced the adoption of a new therapy to treat liver cancer after repeated successes with the treatment in trials last year.
Chief radiologist Lee Rheun-chuan (李潤川) said that 41 patients who had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer had agreed to undergo the treatment last year. None had succumbed to the illness, Lee said.
Lee gave the example of a 65-year-old man who was dying of liver cancer. He had six tumors, all of which disappeared after six-months of therapy.
The treatment applies radiation from the yttrium 90 isotope, he said. Yttrium 90 enters the liver via a catheter. The effects of the localized radiation can be observed within two weeks.
“There is a 90 percent chance for a liver cancer patient to get his or her tumors under control or gradually eliminate them,” Lee told a press conference at the hospital yesterday.
While other radiation therapies for cancer kill tumors from outside the patient’s body, they also kill normal cells. Yttrium 90 therapy eliminates tumors more effectively, doctors said.
“This technology should bring new hope for liver cancer patients,” Lee said.
Because of potential side effects, however, Lee said yttrium 90 therapy would be used sparingly — only for liver cancer. Another drawback is that the therapy costs more than NT$600,000 and is not covered by National Health Insurance.
Lee said yttrium 90 was prohibited by the Department of Health except with special permission granted on a case-by-case basis.
Patients must be screened because the therapy may not be appropriate for certain cases, he said.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS