First Time In History: Cancer In All Patients Vanishes During US Drug Trial - Details

In earlier days, cancer was known to be a condition that could not be treated, however, with the advancement of science and technology in recent decades, the survival rates among cancer patients have increased due to improvements in its early detection techniques and customised anticancer therapies.

New drugs and therapies for cancer have shown successful results in many case studies on cancer patients, however, none have shown a complete disappearance of tumours after the trial, until now.

In an unexpected small clinical trial at the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center (New York), 12 rectal cancer patients had their tumours disappear and were undetectable in endoscopy, MRI scans, physical exams and PET scans.

The miracle happened for the first time in history after receiving the experimental drug dostarlimab. None of the patients has yet reported any significant side effects from the treatment.

The paper was published in The New England Journal of Medicine by Dr Luis Alberto Diaz, one of the leaders of the experimental trial and a medical oncologist at MSK Cancer Center. [1]

About The Research

An expert involved in the study said to NYT that a complete remission in every single patient is "unheard-of", and he too thinks that this has happened for the first time.

The rectal cancer patients who opted for the clinical trial, somehow knew they would have to go through other difficult treatment methods such as chemotherapy and radiation that may cause them problems related to urinary and bowel systems and sexual dysfunction.

However, to everyone's surprise, the tumours have disappeared and the patients no longer require further treatment. They also had no complications.

About Dostarlimab

Some patients may show adverse reactions to drugs used as checkpoint inhibitors in checkpoint inhibitor therapy, a type of treatment method for cancer.

In this new study, the drug dostarlimab was used as a checkpoint inhibitor and was administered every three weeks for six months at a cost of around 11,000 dollars per dose. The drug helps reveal cancer cells, allowing the immune system to recognise and eliminate them.

Also, usually 3-5 per cent of patients who take checkpoint inhibitors may experience severe complications like muscle weakness and problems in swallowing and chewing.

As in the case of dostarlimab, there were no significant side effects, doctors involved in the study suspect that either the drug is not efficient for treating cancer or the cancer type is quite different.

Details related to the duration of time for the complete response of dostarlimab are unknown yet.

To Conclude

Dostarlimab's successful clinical trial has given hope to many cancer patients. Though the treatment appears promising, a larger-scale clinical trial is still required to see if the medicine will work for more cancer patients or whether cancer will return.