Older brotherThe immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab can melt malignant bowel tumors, potentially replacing surgery and chemotherapy, improving the quality of life of cancer patients.
The above results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s largest cancer conference, at the end of May. The study was conducted by University College London and University College London Hospital. , the Christie Foundation, and a number of other units coordinated the implementation.
This method can even replace surgery. Pembrolizumab targets and blocks a specific protein on the surface of immune cells, then seeks out and destroys cancer cells. Clinical trials show that using the drug before surgery, instead of chemotherapy, causes tumors to go into remission in more patients.
Professor Mark Saunders, consultant clinical oncologist at Christie, said the trial results were “really exciting”.
“Preoperative immunotherapy could become a turning point in the fight against bowel cancer. The drug helps patients no longer have to use chemotherapy, which leaves many side effects. In the future, immunotherapy It can even replace the need for surgery,” Professor Saunders said.
In the trial, scientists recruited 32 patients with stage two or three cancer. About 15% of people with bowel cancer at the above stages have a special genetic structure. Patients received pembrolizumab for 9 weeks before surgery, instead of chemotherapy.
The results showed that 59% had no signs of cancer after treatment with pembrolizumab, while the remaining 41% of patients had their cancer removed during surgery. All patients in the trial were cancer-free after treatment. Meanwhile, with standard chemotherapy, less than 5% of patients achieve this state.
The immunotherapy drug Pembrolizumab treats cancer before surgery. Image: MIMS
“Our results indicate that pembrolizumab is a safe and highly effective treatment that improves disease in people with bowel cancer, increasing the chance of curing early-stage disease,” said Dr. Kai- Keen Shiu, research team leader and expert at University College London, said.
Shiu noted that the research team still needs to wait to see if the patients’ cancer will recur, but said the current signs are “very positive.” This method means that patients do not need chemotherapy after surgery.
“Immunotherapy can make the tumor disappear before surgery. If you remove the cancer before invasive intervention, the chance of survival triples. In addition, not needing chemotherapy afterward helps the patient.” avoid side effects,” Shiu added.
Still, Professor Marnix Jansen at the Institute of Cancer at University College London, said more work needs to be done to evaluate pembrolizumab before it can be considered a standard treatment.
Bowel cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 1.9 million new cases and more than 900,000 deaths each year.