A new immunotherapy treatment significantly increases the chances of colorectal cancer patients surviving without surgery, a study finds.
- Colorectal cancer is one of the most common in France with nearly 50,000 new cases each year. Surgery, followed by chemotherapy, is the standard treatment to overcome it.
- In the search for treatments for aggressive forms of cancer, researchers have developed an immunotherapy drug that could “triple the chances of survival” of some patients and spare them the need for surgery.
- 59% of patients in the study had no evidence of cancer after treatment (with pembrolizumab) and before their surgery date, and in the remaining 41%, the cancer was successfully removed during surgery.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common in France with nearly 50,000 new cases each year. Surgery, followed by chemotherapy, is the standard treatment to overcome it. Currently, five-year survival rates are 90% for patients diagnosed at stage one, 65% for those diagnosed at stage two and 10% at stage 3.
In the search for new treatments for aggressive forms of cancer, researchers at University College London have developed an immunotherapy drug that could “triple the chances of survival” patients and avoid surgery. Their work was presented at the annual congress of theAmerican Society of Clinical Oncology.
Immunotherapy drug prior to colorectal cancer surgery
For the study, scientists recruited 32 patients with stage 2 or 3 bowel cancer who had a certain genetic profile (MMR deficiency/high MSI) from five hospitals across the UK. Between 10 and 15% of colorectal cancer patients have this genetic mutation, which makes it difficult for conventional treatments to eradicate the tumour.
For nine weeks before surgery, participants received the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (known as Keytruda) instead of the usual chemotherapy/surgery regimen, and were monitored for 19 months. The treatment allows the immune system to break down large, high-risk tumors, sparing patients the need for invasive surgery.
Six out of ten patients without signs of cancer after immunotherapy treatment
As a result, 59% of patients had no evidence of cancer after treatment with pembrolizumab and before their surgery date, and in the remaining 41%, the cancer was removed during surgery. “All study participants were cancer-free after treatment, and remain so many months later.”the researchers summarize. For comparison, “When conventional chemotherapy is given to patients with this genetic profile, less than 5% show no signs of cancer after surgery.”
“Immunotherapy before surgery could be a game changer for the 10 to 15 percent of patients with this genetic profile who have this type of cancer. Not only is the outcome better, but it spares patients from having to undergo more conventional chemotherapy, which often has more side effects. In the future, immunotherapy could even replace the need for surgery.”
The next step of the study will be to determine survival and recurrence rates. “We have to wait and see if the patients in our trial remain in remission over a longer period of time.”
