I History
In 1993, Americans applied dozens of space patents to invent the argon-helium cryotherapy system, which is commonly known as argon-helium knife.
In 1998, after five years of clinical trials, the FDA approved the Ar-He knife for clinical application, and the American Ar-He knife also received CE certification from the European Union, and began to be used for targeted treatment of solid tumors. Liu Yuanshui, Department of Minimally Invasive Oncology, Shandong Qianfo Mountain Hospital
In 1999, Professor Zhang Jiren from Zhujiang Hospital of the First Military Medical University in Guangzhou, China, introduced the first Ar-He knife in Asia and established the first Ar-He knife training and demonstration center in Asia, which laid the foundation for the promotion of Ar-He knife technology in China.
In 2000, the Japanese (University of Tokyo, Japan) learned argon helium knife tumor treatment technology from China and began clinical application. 2 years later, the University of Tokyo, Japan published a paper confirming that the efficiency of argon helium knife targeted treatment for liver cancer in the United States was over 97%.
In 2000, the U.S. Treasury Department included argon helium knife treatment for prostate cancer in its universal health care plan.
In 2002, the American Urological Association announced that argon helium knife was the first choice for prostate cancer treatment, and that the efficiency of argon helium knife treatment reached over 97%, thus rewriting the history of prostate cancer surgical treatment in the United States.
In 2003, more than 300 hospitals in the United States and 160 hospitals in Europe were using Ar-He knife, and 30 hospitals in China were using Ar-He knife technology.
In 2003, Professor Zhang Jiren of China summarized and edited the world’s first standardized literature on argon helium knife technology, “Argon Helium Targeted Tumor Treatment Technology”.
In 2003, the International Conference on Targeted Cancer Therapy concluded that argon helium knife therapy is one of the best methods for lung cancer treatment. In the United States, it is already a routine equipment for lung cancer treatment.
In 2004, Shandong Qianfo Mountain Hospital Oncology Center introduced the argon-helium knife targeted therapy system to fully carry out the targeted therapy of tumor.
In 2008, the International Cryotherapy Association Tumor Treatment Symposium was held in Shandong Qianfo Mountain Hospital.
II Indications
–Malignant solid tumors.
Liver cancer, lung cancer, brain tumors, breast cancer, pancreatic cancer, thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, kidney and adrenal tumors, abdominal and pelvic tumors, bone tumors, soft tissue tumors, head and neck and skin tumors, metastatic gastrointestinal tumors and other solid tumors
— Benign tumors and benign hyperplastic lesions.
Prostate hyperplasia, benign breast tumors, hemangioma, uterine fibroids, cysts, warts, hemorrhoids, recurrent precancerous lesions, oral leukoplakia, etc.
Lung cancer
Peripheral type lung cancer that cannot tolerate surgical resection
Primary lung cancer that cannot be removed by surgical exploration
Central lung cancer involving lobar bronchi
Central lung cancer partially near the hilar region
Metastatic lung cancer that is more limited
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Primary massive hepatocellular carcinoma with a diameter of 10cm or less or tumor occupying less than 50% of the liver volume
Primary hepatocellular carcinoma with less than 3 foci and metastatic lesions should be less than 5
Liver function evaluation of Child A or B grade
Combined with limited extrahepatic metastases that can be removed by surgery or combined with freezing
Kidney cancer
Bilateral or multiple small renal tumors
Single tumor less than 3 cm in the renal parenchyma
Poor underlying renal function is inoperable and tumor infiltration is less than 1/3
Partial nephrectomy is still the best treatment for unilateral renal tumors with compensated renal function
Prostate Cancer
Patients with one- or two-lobe prostate cancer
Older patients who cannot tolerate other surgeries
Patients who have undergone debulking or androgen-reducing therapy or whose tumor has recurred or remained after surgery
Those who have failed radiotherapy or chemotherapy and have no other treatment options
For some patients with bone metastases but in good general condition, local cryosurgery is still an option
Prostate hyperplasia
Clinical manifestations of prostate enlargement
No urethral stricture
No serious cardiopulmonary disease
No significant bacterial prostatitis
No significant liver or kidney function abnormalities
Normal blood clotting mechanism
Brain tumor
Glioma: especially those tumors whose borders cannot be distinguished during surgery
Meningioma: (10% of brain tumors) especially those located deep in the brain and in the vascular area of the skull base
Other brain tumors: cavernous hemangioma, giant pituitary tumor, chordoma, etc.
Surgery combined with argon helium targeting for the treatment of intermediate and advanced pancreatic cancer
Patients who cannot undergo conventional surgical resection or cannot tolerate surgical resection, with limited lesions and no distant metastasis.
Surgery combined with argon helium targeting for the treatment of intermediate and advanced gallbladder cancer
Stage V patients with isolated infiltrative masses in the liver or a few scattered metastases that have not invaded
not invading the bulk of the liver parenchyma
After resection of the primary lesion, other scattered metastatic lesions remain in the liver that cannot be removed
Patients with stage III or IV disease who have undergone extended cholecystectomy or wedge resection of the liver and whose liver trauma
Those with residual cancer left behind
Patients with local recurrence or metastatic lesions in the liver after radical surgery for gallbladder cancer
Advanced age, severe coexisting disease, major organ dysfunction, and inability to tolerate traumatic surgical resection treatment
Percutaneous puncture argon-helium targeted treatment of pelvic tumors
Patients with intermediate to advanced stage who have lost the opportunity of conventional radical surgery
Patients with localized pelvic metastases, with low mass location and no infiltration with intestinal cavity
Primary tumor in the sacrococcygeal region or recurrence after surgery
Intraoperative direct vision argon helium targeted therapy for pelvic tumor – indications
Postoperative recurrence of uterine and cervical cancer
Postoperative recurrence of rectal cancer with difficulty in percutaneous cryopexy
Metastatic pelvic cancer that cannot be removed surgically
Although the tumor has infiltrated the rectum, the residual tumor can still be inactivated by cryopreservation after conversion to artificial anus
Intraoperative direct vision argon helium targeted therapy for pelvic tumor – contraindications
Tumor infiltrating bilateral ureter and bladder triangle
Tumors that have metastasized extensively
Those who cannot tolerate surgery due to poor general condition
III Advantages of treatment
① Less patient damage – no incision, no bleeding or less bleeding, percutaneous or transluminal treatment, less patient pain.
② Significant effect! -For large tumors, argon helium cryosurgery can kill 80% of cancer cells, and for smaller tumor lesions, cancer cells can be eliminated 100% of the time – with good success rate.
③ Easy to operate, high success rate and few complications; and easy for patients to accept because freezing stops bleeding and pain.
④ slight damage, no toxicity to normal organ tissue cells, can be repeated and done repeatedly
⑤ The operation time is short, the trauma is small, the patient recovers quickly, the requirements for the patient are relatively low, and the patient can generally tolerate it.
(6) Can be performed alone or in combination with radiotherapy, chemotherapy or surgical therapy.
(vii) Low cost, the cost of surgery is around 15,000, and generally one treatment can be finished and discharged after 3-5 days of observation.
(viii) The immune enhancement of tumor due to argon-helium freezing is obvious, and cryotherapy is equivalent to generating a tumor vaccine in the body.
⑨ Suitable for patients with all stages of solid tumors, especially for cases where surgery is inoperable or other treatments have failed.