CANCER DRUG CARVES : 100% SUCCESS

An experimental cancer drug has shown a success rate of 100% in a small study trial on patients with rectal cancer by doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer centre in New York.

The 18 participants were reportedly administered an experimental drug called dostarlimab for six months and following the trial, every single one of their tumors was found to have disappeared.

The researchers described the results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, as  ''breakthrough findings'' and said they were astonished by the universal success rate.

''I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,'' Dr. Luis Diaz, a leading member of the team, told The New York Times.

Much remains unknown about the drug and how the treatment trial was successful, however, there appears great optimism amongst scientists who say such a success rate has never been recorded in the history of the field.

The United States Food and Drug Authority [FDA] had only approved the drug for human trial ''for at least 300 patients across all tumour types'' in early August last year, according to the FDA website.

In an interview with NPR, Dr Hanna Sanoff - who is one of the few people who have written about the results - explained the mechanism by which the drug works.

''This drug is one of a class of drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors. These are immunotherapy medicines that work not by directly attacking the cancer itself, but actually getting a person's immune system to essentially do the work.

These are drugs that have been around in melanoma and other cancers for quite a while, but really have not been part of the routine care of colorectal cancer until fairly recently,'' she explained.

She also added that the drug had no severe side effects for the participant of the study.

According to another study by Dr Anthony Markham, only 10 percent of the patients participating in the experimental trial experienced adverse effects, such as anaemia, nausea and fatigue.

The group of researchers currently conducting trials of dosterlimab expressa sense of optimism around the drug's potential.

In a review article exploring current literature surrounding the use of the drug in uterine cancer [EC], researchers Dr Lawrence Kasherman, Dr Soha Ahrari, and Dr Stephanie Lheureux summarise these feelings stating :

''Dostarlimab has shown promising results in early evaluations, and with the competition of ongoing trials in first-time treatment or beyond, its utility in the treatment of advanced stage EC will become clearer.

Building upon the potential clinical success of these studies, the scientific community is keen to learn more about the underlying mechanisms of resistance that could be elucidated from the correlative analyses from these studies.

As the ultimate goal of treatment of advanced or recurrent EC is for patients to live better and longer, survival results from combination studies are eagerly awaited to guide the next step towards achieving this.''

The World Students Society thanks News Desk, The Express Tribune.