The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) yesterday announced that, starting next month, it will cover stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), a treatment that can significantly shorten the length of radiotherapy sessions for patients with early-stage lung cancer or non-metastasized liver tumors.
NHIA Medical Affairs Division official Chen Chen-hui (陳真慧) said SBRT is known for its ability to accurately locate tumors with the assistance of image guidance and breathing motion management, before delivering high doses of radiation with pinpoint accuracy.
“Conventional radiotherapy generally requires 30 radiation treatments that are conducted five times a week for approximately six weeks. However, as the SBRT dose is three to 15 times more than the dose delivered by traditional treatment, the patient is subjected to just six radiation treatments, which are carried out once a day at one to three-day intervals, taking less than two weeks to complete,” Chen said.
Chen said research has suggested that SBRT is more effective in treating early-stage lung and liver cancers that have not spread than linear accelerator teletherapy, which is currently covered by the NHIA.
The new policy, which covers the NT$210,000 (US$6,571) cost per six-session SBRT treatment, is applicable for people with a lung tumor smaller than 5cm whose Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status is 2 or lower.
The subsidy is also available to patients with a single liver tumor measuring less than 5cm that is inoperable or cannot be treated with arterial embolization and radio frequency ablation, whose ECOG performance status is 2 or lower, and who are classified as having mild or moderate hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh A-B).
Chen said the plan is expected to cost the NHIA NT$28 million and benefit about 300 patients per year.
Meanwhile, Health Promotion Administration Director-General Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) yesterday reiterated the effectiveness of regular fecal occult blood testing in detecting colorectal cancer in its early stages, one day after the mother of Taiwanese-Japanese singer Makiyo died of the cancer at the age of 64.
“Research has established a link between regular fecal occult blood testing and a dramatic decrease in colorectal cancer death rates by up to 30 percent. The test is effective, non-invasive, painless and does not require any dietary restrictions before sample collection,” Chiou said.
Citing the latest statistics, Chiou said of the 1.2 million people who received the screening test last year, 32,000 were found to have developed colon polyps and more than 2,000 were diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
As colorectal cancer tends to be asymptomatic in the early stages, it has often reached the end stage by the time sufferers notice any unusual changes, such as bloody feces and changes in the size or shape of stools, Chiou said.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
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VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
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