A new study at the New England Journal of Medicine shows that some people with initial cancer may be able to miss surgery after being treated with Dostarlimab immunotherapy drugs.
In this study, 82 out of 103 participants responded very well to the drug so that they no longer need surgery.
The Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center, which is located in Manhattan, New York, is depicted on September 14, 2017.
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While the results are promising, this research was conducted in a hospital – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City – and some patients have not been followed long enough to find out whether their cancer might return from time to time.
And because this study includes various types of cancer, there are relatively few patients with each specific type of cancer, making it difficult to interpret the results for greater groups of patients.
It also focuses on the very selected type of patient whose tumor has a “disability of improving incompatibility,” genetic problems that prevent cells repair DNA damage and make it more likely they will respond to immunotherapy.
“They chose themselves, because they had specific genetic changes, and that genetic changes occurred about 2% to 3% of all cancer patients,” Dr. Luis Diaz, one of the research authors and head of the solid tumor oncology division in MSK.
When people are diagnosed with early stages of cancer that forms a lump or mass, they often need a big surgery to try to remove them-and even though surgery, they can also face aggressive treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation.
Because this cancer often affects organs in the abdominal system or digestion, surgery can have a major impact on the patient’s life. Some people lose part or all of their esophagus or stomach, making it difficult or impossible to eat normally. Other people may need a bag to collect stool or lose the ability to get pregnant.
All 49 patients with early -stage rectal cancer who received six months of immunotherapy were able to avoid surgery.
“And that after six months of treatment, their tumors were completely lost,” said one of the other research writers, Dr. Andrea Cercek, Head of Colorectal Section in MSK. “They don’t need other treatment.”
Two years later, 92% remain cancer free. Among the first groups reaching the five-year sign, the four patients are still free of diseases and two of them each have two children.
“What’s extraordinary is that they will not be able to get pregnant or bring children if they are through standard therapy,” Diaz said.
As for patients with cancer other initial stages, 35 out of 54 free of cancer after undergoing immunotherapy and able to avoid surgery. However, two patients still choose to continue operations – one for peace of mind and the other to eliminate medical hardware related to cancer.
Of the five patients whose cancer returned, most of them were treated again.
Cercek explained that, while immunotherapy alone may not help most cancer patients avoid surgery, their work opens the door for the future.
“Just close your eyes and just imagine that one day you are diagnosed with cancer and you do not have your esophagus or stomach or your rectum or bladder, and you can avoid it,” Diaz said. “For this 3% we can fully eliminate the need for operation. This is quite transformational.”
By combining various approaches to this type of immunotherapy, Cercek hopes they can imitate their success in more types of cancer.
“So, we continue this trial and we are trying to expand research outside of warnings with more patients so that we can offer this therapy as a standard of treatment,” Cercek said.
In Rochester, ABC News Unit – debated by the report.