THIS immunotherapy drug could revolutionise bowel cancer treatment

An immunotherapy drug, pembrolizumab, has shown the potential to "melt away" tumours in bowel cancer patients, as per a newstudy. It is seen to have boosted cure rates and also potentially eliminate the need for surgery, according to recent clinical trial results.

Pembrolizumab, also known as Keytruda, works by targeting and blocking a specific protein in immune cells. It enabled them to identify and destroy cancer cells.

This new approach, administered before surgery instead of chemotherapy, has yielded remarkable results.

Presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference, the study found a substantial increase in patients achieving cancer-free status.

Led by researchers from University College London, University College London Hospital, the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester, St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds, University Hospital Southampton, and the University of Glasgow, the trial was funded by Merck Sharp and Dohme and included 32 patients with stage two or three bowel cancer and a specific genetic profile (MMR deficient/MSI-High bowel cancer).

The trial results were described as "really very exciting" by Professor Mark Saunders, a consultant clinical oncologist at the Christie.

"Immunotherapy prior to surgery could well become a 'gamechanger' for these patients with this type of cancer. Not only is the outcome better, but it saves patients from having more conventional chemotherapy, which often has more side-effects. In the future, immunotherapy may even replace the need for surgery."

Bowel cancer is a significant global health issue, being the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with over 1.9 million new cases and more than 900,000 deaths annually, according to the World Health Organization.

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Trial

During the trial, patients received pembrolizumab for nine weeks before surgery, bypassing the traditional chemotherapy route. The results were striking. About 59 per cent of patients had no signs of cancer following the treatment, while the remaining 41 per cent had their cancer surgically removed.

All patients in the trial were cancer-free post-treatment.

Dr. Kai-Keen Shiu, the trial’s chief investigator highlighted the drug’s efficacy saying, "Our results indicate that pembrolizumab is a safe and highly effective treatment to improve outcomes in patients with high-risk bowel cancers, increasing the chances of curing the disease at an early stage."

He noted that while the initial results are promising, long-term follow-up is necessary to confirm the durability of the response.

(With inputs from agencies)