A revolutionary study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has shown that the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab can effectively melt malignant bowel tumors, possibly replacing traditional treatments like surgery and chemotherapy. This could significantly improve the quality of life for cancer patients. The study was conducted by University College London and University College London Hospital, along with the Christie Foundation and other collaborating units.
Pembrolizumab works by targeting and blocking a specific protein on the surface of immune cells. It then seeks out and destroys cancer cells. Clinical trials have demonstrated that using this drug before surgery, instead of chemotherapy, can lead to tumor remission in more patients. Professor Mark Saunders, a consultant clinical oncologist at Christie, called the trial results “really exciting” and suggested that preoperative immunotherapy could be a turning point in the fight against bowel cancer.
In this trial, 32 patients with stage two or three cancer were recruited, with 15% having a special genetic structure associated with bowel cancer. Patients received pembrolizumab for 9 weeks before surgery, and the results showed that 59% had no signs of cancer after treatment. This success rate far surpasses traditional chemotherapy treatments.
Dr. Kai-Keen Shiu, the research team leader from University College London, emphasized that pembrolizumab shows promise as a safe and highly effective treatment that could improve outcomes for patients with bowel cancer. The drug has the potential to make tumors disappear before surgery and eliminate the need for chemotherapy after surgical intervention.
While these initial results are very positive, more research is needed to evaluate pembrolizumab fully before it can be considered a standard treatment for bowel cancer
