New cancer drug ‘cures’ rectal tumors in patients during US trial
A cancer drug trial conducted in the US has shown remarkable results in the treatment of rectal tumors, heralding hope to millions of patients worldwide that a cure is within sight.
According to New York Times, in the small clinical trial conducted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, all the patients that took the drug, Dostarlimab, for around six months saw tumors disappear.
Dr Luis A Diaz J of New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center said this was “the first time this has happened in the history of cancer.”
Dostarlimab, according to health experts, is a drug with laboratory-produced molecules and it acts as substitute antibodies in the human body.
The drug, which is sold under the brand name Jemperli, is an immunotherapy drug used in the treatment of endometrial cancer, but this was the first clinical investigation of whether it was also effective against rectal cancer tumors.
The early results reported so far suggest it is surprisingly effective, with the research saying the successful cancer remission seen in every trial patient may be unprecedented for a cancer drug intervention.
“I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,” medical oncologist Luis Diaz Jr. from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center said.
However, it’s worth noting that the positive results have only been seen in 12 patients so far with the trial still ongoing, all of whom had tumors with genetic mutations called mismatch repair deficiency, seen in a subset of approximately 5–10 percent of rectal cancer patients.
Patients with such tumors tend to be less responsive to chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which increases the need for surgical removal of their tumors.
