Bowel cancer tumors disappear in 100% of patients after taking a new drug in a small trial
Patients with Bowel cancer tumors who took part in a modest clinical trial saw their tumors vanish after getting a new treatment.
After receiving dostarlimab, a medicine that aids the immune system in identifying tumor cells, the 12 subjects went into remission.
According to the researchers, none of the patients reported any serious negative effects as a result of the treatment.
Dr. Luis Alberto Diaz Jr, one of the tribal leaders and a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Centre, told The New York Times, “I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer.”
Experts hailed the modest trial’s findings, which were done at the MSK Cancer Center in New York City and published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), as “reason for tremendous optimism.”
The 12 trial participants all had “mismatch repair-deficient” colon cancer, which has been found to respond poorly to chemotherapy treatment. It is estimated that 5% to 10% of bowel cancer patients are affected.
The drug’s effectiveness against other types of bowel cancer is unknown at this time.
“Single-agent dostarlimab was exceptionally effective in mismatch repair-deficient, locally advanced rectal cancer in our research, showing a clinical full response in all 12 patients who have completed treatment to date,” according to the findings.
While the findings were encouraging, Dr. Hanna Sanoff, an oncologist at the University of North Carolina’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Centre, emphasized that more research was needed before the medicine could be used as a stand-alone treatment for mismatch repair-deficient colon cancer.
“While more time is needed to determine response duration, this is game-changing for patients with [mismatch repair-deficient] locally advanced rectal cancer,” Dr. Diaz said in a release from MSK.
In the United Kingdom, bowel cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer and the second leading cause of death.
In the United Kingdom, almost 43,000 people are diagnosed with colon cancer each year. Bowel cancer has been diagnosed in approximately 268,000 people in the United Kingdom today.
What are the symptoms of bowel cancer?
The three primary signs of bowel cancer, according to the NHS, are:
- Blood in your poop that persists for no apparent reason or is linked to a change in bowel habits.
- a long-term change in your bowel habits, such as needing to go more frequently and having your poop become runnier.
- Consistent lower, bloating, or discomfort – this is usually produced by eating and is linked to appetite loss and weight gain.
- Most patients with these symptoms, according to the NHS, do not have colon cancer. Other health issues, such as a change in diet or hemorrhoids, might create similar sensations.
If you’ve had any of the symptoms of bowel cancer for three weeks or more, the NHS suggests consulting your doctor.
