Testing cancer drugs on 18 people, 100% cured

According to RT news agency, the patients cancer rectal participated in a small drug trial in New York (USA) received unexpected results after being tried with immunotherapy.

The trial results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine a few days ago.

According to the report, all 18 patients participating in the trial had locally advanced stage II and III rectal cancer (meaning that the tumors had spread in the rectum and sometimes to the lymph nodes but not in the lymph nodes). not to other organs), and has a rare genetic mutation.

They were treated for 6 months with an immunotherapy drug. The drug costs about 11,000 dollars (254 million VND)/dose and is used every 3 weeks.

The drug works by “exposing” cancer cells so the immune system can identify and destroy them, said Dr. David Agus, a contributor to CBS News.

“Simply put, this is an immunotherapy that blocks the “don’t eat me” signal on cancer cells, allowing the immune system to eliminate them. Mr. Agus said.

One of the trial participants – Sascha Roth – told the New York Times that she was preparing to go to Manhattan to begin a few weeks of radiation therapy when she suddenly received the results of the test after the drug trial. . The results showed that Mrs. Roth was cancer-free.

“I told my family, but no one believed me,” Roth said.

The same goes for other patients participating in the trial. The cancer seemed to have disappeared in these people, undetectable through a physical exam, endoscopy, PET scan, or MRI.

One of the paper’s authors, Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, told the New York Times that he’s never known of other studies in which a treatment might be possible. completely eliminated the cancer in all patients.

“I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer research,” he said. Mr. Luis A. Diaz Jr said.

The patients participating in the trial showed no signs of cancer even after a follow-up of more than 6 months, meaning they no longer needed standard cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. The disease was reported to be non-relapsed in any patient. These patients are now cancer-free for 6 to 25 months after the trial ends.

It is also important to note that none of the patients experienced serious side effects from the drug, unlike what they might experience if they had surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.

With initial success, the researchers agreed that the trial should be replicated in a larger study, as the previous trial had only focused on patients with a rare genetic marker in the tumor. their. But the 100% remission rate in the patients is a very promising early sign.

The next trial is expected to include about 30 patients, helping to provide a complete picture of the safety and effectiveness of the new drug.

According to Tien Phong