NEW WONDER DRUG WIPES OUT CANCER!
DEADLY rectal cancer was obliterated in all 18 patients treated with a revolutionary immunotherapy drug, and the clinical trial’s unprecedented results are offering hope in the fight against other forms of the life-threatening disease, say researchers.
“I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,” says Dr. Luis Alberto Diaz Jr., co-leader of the study at New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Following the experimental treatment, cancer was undetectable by physical exam, endoscopy, PET scans or MRIs — and to date, it has not returned in any of the patients, who have remained disease-free for up to 25 months.
All participants had locally advanced rectal cancer with a specific genetic mutation known as mismatch repair deficiency (MMRd), which prevents the body from correcting damage to DNA molecules. The individuals received the monoclonal antibody dostarlimab, also known as a checkpoint inhibitor, intravenously every three weeks for six months.
The drug works by attaching to the protein PD-1 on the surface of cancer cells, allowing the body’s immune system to identify and destroy them.
Previously, the trial patients faced grueling treatment options — including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, potentially resulting in bowel, urinary and sexual dysfunction. Some might have even required colostomy bags. But after the trial, no further treatment was needed!
Rectal cancer strikes an estimated 45,000 Americans annually, but only 5 to 10 percent of cases are believed to involve MMRd tumors. Still, Diaz calls dostarlimab a “great step forward.”
While the recent results have been called compelling, experts say it’s too early to call dostarlimab a miracle cure, and larger studies are planned.
Meanwhile, Diaz believes researchers are looking at “the tip of the iceberg.” He explains his team is investigating whether this same method may help other cancers — including stomach, prostate and pancreatic — where treatments are often lifealtering and tumors can be MMRd.