Cancer Phase IV
Cancer, also known as malignant tumor, is an abnormal proliferation of cells in the human body after mutation.
Upon cancer diagnosis, it is important to consult specialist professionals and make the right treatment choice after having thorough examinations. Cancer is divided into four stages, with its distinct staging criteria as defined by the specific cancer types.
In general, Stage I: The tumor is small and doesn’t spread/metastasis (i.e. cancer cells can be localized, surgically removed, without the need to be managed by circulating chemical drugs).
Stage 2: The tumor size is bigger but not yet spread (i.e. cancer cells can still be located, surgically removed, and may not need to be treated with circulating chemical drugs).
Stage 3: Increasingly proliferating cancer cells penetrate tumor walls; the cancer cells spread to the tumor surrounding tissues, adjacent lymph nodes and beyond. Meanwhile, the cancer cells circulate around the original cancer sites, and must be treated with circulatory chemotherapies.
Stage 4: Cancer cells spread from where it started to distant organs and tissues. At this stage cancer cells have travelled through the body and must be treated with chemotherapeutic therapies. Cancers at stage four are difficult to treat and unlikely to be cured. Quite often, we control the symptoms and prolong the survival period by performing palliative treatment.
Hospice care is an option in submission to parents' need at this stage. For such patients, Tzu-Chi Hospital applies to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MoHW), using natural killer cells, immune T cells, dendritic cells, etc. as adjuvant treatment for conventional therapies.
Please note, the cell therapy indications listed in the table below are pending MoHW approval. Tzu Chi Hospital is yet to be able to provide these mentioned medical services. Please wait for further announcement regarding policy release from Tzu-Chi Hospital and Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Cell type |
CPU |
Indications |
Doctors |
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Cytokine induced killer cells (CIK) |
TABP/ |
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Natural killer cells (NK) |
Medigen Biotech |
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Case studies