In a small clinical trial conducted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, all rectal cancer patients who received an investigational immunotherapy treatment experienced complete remission.

When the results came out, one of the people who took part, Sascha Roth, was getting ready to go to Manhattan for weeks of radiation therapy. The doctors then told her the good news: she no longer had cancer.

"I told my family but they didn't believe me!" Roth said in an interview with a news publication.

So far, 14 patients have had the same amazing results. The study came out in the New England Journal of Medicine last Sunday. All of the people had locally advanced rectal cancer and a rare mutation called mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd).

They were given treatment for a period of six months with an immunotherapy drug called dostarlimab, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which contributed funding to the research.

And according to the researchers, the cancer was gone in all of them – undetectable by physical examination, endoscopy, PET scans, or MRI scans.

The immunotherapy drug Dostarlimab, also known as Jemperli. Credit: 9News.​

Dostarlimab functions by exposing cancer cells, allowing the immune system to recognise and destroy them. The drug costs approximately $15,430 AUD per dose, and each patient in the research study received it every three weeks for six months.

Dr David Agus, a medical contributor at CBS News, said, "This new treatment is a type of immunotherapy, a treatment that blocks the 'don't eat me' signal on cancer cells enabling the immune system to eliminate them."

"The treatment targets a subtype of rectal cancer that has the DNA repair system not working. When this system isn't working there are more errors in proteins and the immune system recognizes these and kills the cancer cells," he added.

After at least six months of observation, the patients continued to exhibit no signs of cancer without requiring the standard treatments of surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Following the conclusion of the clinical trial, all of the patients have remained cancer-free for a period of time ranging from six to twenty-five months without experiencing a recurrence of the disease.

The fact that none of the patients experienced serious side effects was yet another unexpected finding from the study.

The study on a new drug for bowel cancer was led by Dr Andrea Cercek. Credit: 9News.​

In a news release, Dr Andrea Cercek, a medical oncologist and principal investigator in the study, said, "Surgery and radiation have permanent effects on fertility, sexual health, bowel and bladder function."

"The effects on quality of life are big, especially for people whose ability to have children would be hurt by standard treatment. As the number of young adults getting rectal cancer goes up, this approach can make a big difference."

Researchers agree that the trial needs to be done again in a much larger study. They also point out that the small study only looked at patients whose tumours had a rare genetic signature.

But they say that seeing complete remission in all of the patients who were tested is a very good sign.

"What's so remarkable about this is that it completely eradicated the cancer; the tumour simply vanished in all 14 consecutive patients," Dr Cercek added.

While larger trials of the drug are now required, the study demonstrates the value of profiling tumours to individualise treatment, according to Australian experts.

"Even if it isn't for all patients, this potentially represents a new path of therapy for that right subset of patients," Royal North Shore Hospital oncologist David Chan said.

"The more we understand about the tumour, the better we can treat it."

This year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration granted provisional approval for the drug's use in Australia solely for advanced endometrial cancer.

Watch the video below to learn more about the Dostarlimab drug and the research study that was conducted on it:

Credit: World Affairs.​

 

[Ezzy]

Is there finally a CURE for cancer? Researchers say we're close​

In a small clinical trial conducted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, all rectal cancer patients who received an investigational immunotherapy treatment experienced complete remission.

When the results came out, one of the people who took part, Sascha Roth, was getting ready to go to Manhattan for weeks of radiation therapy. The doctors then told her the good news: she no longer had cancer.

"I told my family but they didn't believe me!" Roth said in an interview with a news publication.

​

So far, 14 patients have had the same amazing results. The study came out in the New England Journal of Medicine last Sunday. All of the people had locally advanced rectal cancer and a rare mutation called mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd).

They were given treatment for a period of six months with an immunotherapy drug called dostarlimab, manufactured by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which contributed funding to the research.

And according to the researchers, the cancer was gone in all of them – undetectable by physical examination, endoscopy, PET scans, or MRI scans.

The immunotherapy drug Dostarlimab, also known as Jemperli. Credit: 9News.​

Dostarlimab functions by exposing cancer cells, allowing the immune system to recognise and destroy them. The drug costs approximately $15,430 AUD per dose, and each patient in the research study received it every three weeks for six months.

Dr David Agus, a medical contributor at CBS News, said, "This new treatment is a type of immunotherapy, a treatment that blocks the 'don't eat me' signal on cancer cells enabling the immune system to eliminate them."

"The treatment targets a subtype of rectal cancer that has the DNA repair system not working. When this system isn't working there are more errors in proteins and the immune system recognizes these and kills the cancer cells," he added.

​

After at least six months of observation, the patients continued to exhibit no signs of cancer without requiring the standard treatments of surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Following the conclusion of the clinical trial, all of the patients have remained cancer-free for a period of time ranging from six to twenty-five months without experiencing a recurrence of the disease.

The fact that none of the patients experienced serious side effects was yet another unexpected finding from the study.

The study on a new drug for bowel cancer was led by Dr Andrea Cercek. Credit: 9News.​

In a news release, Dr Andrea Cercek, a medical oncologist and principal investigator in the study, said, "Surgery and radiation have permanent effects on fertility, sexual health, bowel and bladder function."

"The effects on quality of life are big, especially for people whose ability to have children would be hurt by standard treatment. As the number of young adults getting rectal cancer goes up, this approach can make a big difference."

Researchers agree that the trial needs to be done again in a much larger study. They also point out that the small study only looked at patients whose tumours had a rare genetic signature.

But they say that seeing complete remission in all of the patients who were tested is a very good sign.

"What's so remarkable about this is that it completely eradicated the cancer; the tumour simply vanished in all 14 consecutive patients," Dr Cercek added.

​

While larger trials of the drug are now required, the study demonstrates the value of profiling tumours to individualise treatment, according to Australian experts.

"Even if it isn't for all patients, this potentially represents a new path of therapy for that right subset of patients," Royal North Shore Hospital oncologist David Chan said.

"The more we understand about the tumour, the better we can treat it."

This year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration granted provisional approval for the drug's use in Australia solely for advanced endometrial cancer.

Watch the video below to learn more about the Dostarlimab drug and the research study that was conducted on it:

Credit: World Affairs.​

Dostarlimab has only been trialed & cured rectal cancer in the trialed patients & may not work for everybody, but what a great start. A cure for many people l am sure. This is a starting point for further research. From a tiny acorn seed comes a mighty oak tree. Hope for the future.

 

[Ricci]

Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could kick cancer to the kerb and leave it there.

 

[Ezzy]

Wouldn't it be fantastic if we could kick cancer to the kerb and leave it there.

Can't come soon enough for me.