The combination of two immunotherapy treatments would eliminate tumors in patients with brain and throat cancer, even in the terminal phase.
- Nearly 6,000 new people were diagnosed with a central nervous system tumor in 2018.
- As for throat cancer, it affects 17,000 people each year.
- Immunotherapy involves stimulating the immune system to destroy cancer cells.
Cancer research is advancing, and a British team has made an important discovery on the subject. Scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in London have found that the mixture of two immunotherapy drugs is effective in reducing and eliminating throat and brain tumors. This observation was made in the context of a phase III clinical study, which precedes the marketing authorization application.
Results never achieved before
The immunotherapy treatments nivolumab and ipilimumab have allowed patients with advanced brain and neck cancer to live longer, compared to another therapeutic strategy called “extreme“: an aggressive cocktail of two chemotherapy drugs and a targeted antibody treatment. According to the authors of this study, the results were not statistically significant, but the combination of immunotherapy, designed to trigger the action of the system immunotherapy against cancer, led to a non-negligible improvement in survival.The survival rates of patients with elevated levels of PD-L1, an immune marker, who received the combination of immunotherapies were the highest ever reported in a first-line therapeutic trial in relapsed or metastatic brain and neck cancer, they survived three months longer on average, compared to patients who received chemotherapy.
The healing of a 77-year-old patient
Barry Ambrose, 77, is one of the participants in this study. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2017, which spread to his lungs. His doctors told him he was terminally ill and that palliative care was the only solution. “When I was informed of the existence of this trial I did not hesitate to participate – what did I have to lose?he says. It turned out to be a lifesaver.” He adds that he had almost no side effects and was able to continue doing the things he loves: “sailing, cycling and spending time with my family“. After two months, he is informed that the tumor present in his throat disappeared, even if the cancer was always present in his lungs. Then, he underwent surgery and chemotherapy. Since then, he is in remission: there are no more traces of cancer in his organism.
Fewer side effects
Other patients reported having fewer or few side effects. “Immunotherapy is a much gentler treatment option than extreme chemotherapy, which comes with side effects such as nausea, pain, loss of appetite, fatigue and breathing problems.”they specify in a communicated. This is another non-negligible advantage of this therapeutic option. Before being used or even generalized, new studies on this treatment will be necessary to confirm these results.
???? NEWS: CheckMate 651 trial showed that year #Immunotherapy combination could be better than #Chemotherapy as first-line treatment for some patients with relapsed or metastatic #HeadNeckCancer:https://t.co/uflG3v6HRS pic.twitter.com/eB5qaw1Ysg
— The ICR (@ICR_London) October 11, 2021
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