In a small clinical trial conducted in the USA, it was discovered that an experimental cancer drug could cure cancer patients. According to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, 12 patients, all diagnosed with rectal cancer, recovered after receiving dostarlimab (an experimental drug) for a six-month period.
One of the lead authors of the journal, Dr. “This is the first time in the history of cancer treatment,” Luis Diaz told The New York Times. While excited by the research, the scientists said more experiments were needed before promising results could be achieved, and cautioned against concluding that the cancer was permanently eradicated. Let’s take a look at the details together.
After a 2-year period in the experiment, the cancer cells were completely destroyed
Dostarlimab is an immune system therapy drug used in the treatment of endometrial cancer, but it is against rectal cancer tumors. It was the first clinical trial to see if it could be effective. The drug unmasks cancer cells, allowing the immune system to identify and destroy them.
For the study, 12 patients received dostarlimab every three weeks for six months. Normally, this treatment would be followed by standard chemotherapy and surgery, but it was concluded that this was not necessary with the feedback received from the patients.
Because six months after patients stopped taking the drug, the cancer cells disappeared beyond detection by physical examination, endoscopy, PET or MRI scans. Two years after the study, the patients appear to be completely cancer-free. As a result, none of the study participants had received chemotherapy or surgery yet. What are you thinking? Please do not forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments.
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