An immunotherapy drug would allow remission of non-metastatic rectal cancer in 100% of cases. But this claim is based on a very small-scale study.
- Each dose of the drug costs $11,000.
- The majority of patients had no significant side effects.
- Current treatments for rectal cancer are surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Is there a miracle cure for cancer? This is the track put forward by a scientific team from the Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer research center, located in New York. In a study published in the journal The New England Journal of Medicine, they demonstrate that a treatment can cure people with non-metastatic rectal cancer. In an interview at NPR, Dr. Hanna Sanoff of the Lineberger Cancer Research Center at the University of North Carolina expresses her enthusiasm for the results. “We have never seen a treatment work 100% in cancer medicine.”, she says. She did not participate in the research, but wrote a text on the discoveries made by her colleagues.
Six months of treatment
In this medical trial, 18 patients were recruited, all with stage II or III rectal adenocarcinoma. For six months, twelve of them received dostarlimab every three weeks. This drug belongs to the family of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Used in immunotherapy, these treatments block certain proteins, at the level of “control points”, to allow the immune system to act and destroy cancer cells. “These are drugs that have been around for a long time in the treatment of melanoma and other cancers, but really haven’t been part of routine colorectal cancer care until fairly recently.”says Dr. Hanna Sanoff at NPR. If the drug was not enough to reduce or even eliminate the tumor, the researchers had planned chemotherapy sessions or surgery. One of the hopes of this treatment is precisely to avoid surgery, because it can have heavy consequences on the daily life of the people who undergo it: sexual, urinary, intestinal disorders or even infertility.
A future landmark study
After six months, all the patients were in remission: no signs of tumor were detected and none of them needed surgery or chemotherapy to complete the treatment. “No case of progression or recurrence had been reported during the follow-up (from 6 to 25 months)”, say the authors of the study. Given these results,there were many tears of joy”says Dr. Andrea Cercek, co-author, at New york Times. The remission of all the participants surprised the researchers themselves. “I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer.”, says Dr. Luis A. Diaz, co-author. In conclusion of the study, the authors point out, however, that a long-term follow-up will be necessary to confirm these results, but it will also be necessary to carry out a larger clinical trial. Dr. Hanna Sanoff specifies that this will allow to know the real rate of response to this treatment. “It can’t be 100%says the scientist. I hope I would bite my fingers for saying that, but I can’t imagine it will be 100% again!“
