A United States of America drug trial involving cancer patients has reportedly recorded 100 percent success.
The patients who are suffering from rental cancer, a cancer of the colon or rectum, located at the digestive tract’s lower end.
According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the trial consists of 12 patients which all entered remission after taking “dostarlimab” over six months.
Dostarlimab is an immunotherapy drug used to treat cancer of the uterus lining (endometrial cancer). This medication is also used to treat certain types of tumors (solid tumors). It works by changing the action of your immune system, directing it to attack cancer/tumor cells.
This clinical experiment sought to know whether it could be effective against rectal cancer tumors.
According to a report from the researchers, the 12 patients received dostarlimab every three weeks for six months and which is then followed by standard chemoradiotherapy and surgery.
After six months the patients stopped taking the medication, and they recorded significant improvement.
The report “A total of 12 patients have completed treatment with dostarlimab and have undergone at least 6 months of follow-up. All 12 patients (100%; 95% confidence interval, 74 to 100) had a clinical complete response, with no evidence of tumor on magnetic resonance imaging, F-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron-emission tomography, endoscopic evaluation, digital rectal examination, or biopsy,” the researchers said.
“At the time of this report, no patients had received chemoradiotherapy or undergone surgery, and no cases of progression or recurrence had been reported during follow-up (range, 6 to 25 months). No adverse events of grade 3 or higher have been reported.”
The scientists said, nonetheless, “longer follow-up is needed to assess the duration of response” and therefore cautioned against concluding that the cancer had been eradicated permanently.
