Is drug maintenance required after the course of Platinib (Pujihua) treatment?

Pralsetinib (Pralsetinib) is a targeted drug targeting RET gene fusion or mutation. It is mainly used to treat RET positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and thyroid cancer. As for whether drug maintenance is needed after the course of treatment, it needs to be comprehensively judged based on the patient's specific condition, efficacy evaluation, and recurrence risk. Normally, the therapeutic principle of targeted drugs is to maintain the drugs after the disease is controlled to prevent cancer cells from relapse or becoming drug-resistant.

In clinical practice, after the course of platinib treatment is completed, if the patient's tumor has reached partial remission or complete remission, doctors will generally evaluate the patient's overall health status, blood picture and imaging examination results to decide whether to continue low-dose maintenance medication. The main purpose of maintenance medication is to prolong progression-free survival (PFS), reduce the possibility of disease recurrence, and monitor potential side effects.

It should be noted that long-term maintenance medication of platinib may cause certain toxic and side effects, including thrombocytopenia, abnormal liver function and hypertension. Therefore, when deciding on maintenance therapy, patients need to undergo regular blood tests, liver function assessments, and blood pressure monitoring to ensure safe use of the medication. At the same time, if serious side effects occur, you should communicate with your doctor in time. The dosage may need to be adjusted or the medication may be suspended.

In general, there is no unified standard answer to whether maintenance medication is required after the end of platinib treatment, and it needs to be evaluated based on the patient's individual condition. For patients whose condition is stable and well tolerated, doctors may recommend continued maintenance treatment to delay recurrence; for patients with severe adverse reactions or whose condition has been completely remitted, they may also choose a strategy of regular review and observation follow-up. In any case, maintenance medication decisions should be made by professional physicians based on clinical evaluation to balance efficacy and safety.

Reference materials:https://www.drugs.com/