AT THE NATIONAL MEDICAL RESEARCH RADIOLOGICAL CENTRE, PATIENTS WITH METASTASES FROM TUMOURS OF UNKNOWN PRIMARY ORIGIN ARE SUCCESSFULLY TREATED

One of the Centre’s branches — the N. Lopatkin Scientific Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology — has become a site for developing and implementing approaches to treating patients in the most complex clinical situations, including those who had previously been denied anti-tumor therapy. Nadezhda Borisovna is one of them.

«I am largely to blame myself for paying too little attention to my health, even though I trained as a nurse», – the patient admits.

Due to family circumstances, Nadezhda left medicine. And, as she admits, she had no serious, visible health problems until the age of 70.

«Despite my age, I continued to have menstrual periods, which was abnormal in itself, of course. And one day my neighbor literally took me by the hand to the doctor on duty at a nearby hospital, where an experienced doctor quickly determined that it was bleeding, which posed a serious threat to life».

After curettage, two of the country’s leading medical centers confirmed that it was a malignant process: a metastasis was found in the removed ovary. Nadezhda underwent a course of radiation and drug therapy, but sometime later, a follow-up PET/CT scan revealed metastases in her lungs. The primary tumor was never found, and the doctors could only shrug.

But the woman did not lose hope.

Together with her daughter, they began looking for possible treatment options. An acquaintance suggested turning to the N. Lopatkin Scientific Research Institute of Urology and Interventional Radiology, where the Centre for Personalized Oncology and Supportive Care had been established — a center that treats patients like her.

«We studied the patient’s test results in detail and selected a treatment according to an individual regimen, which made it possible to achieve a partial response — a reduction in the size of the tumor lesions», – confirmed Inessa Kononenko, Head of the Department, Doctor of Medical Sciences. «Our method involves a comprehensive analysis of the clinical and morphological characteristics of the tumor, the results of molecular genetic testing, the presumed sensitivity to various types of therapy, the patient’s overall condition and any coexisting illnesses».

Nadezhda went through all stages of treatment with resilience. Supportive therapy lies ahead. But what matters most to us is her quality of life: the doctors have managed to improve it significantly — the patient takes long walks, takes care of her health, watches her diet — she is living a full and fulfilling life!