Bowel cancer patients could be cured without surgery or chemotherapy, using a drug that controls their own immune system.
Everyone who received pembrolizumab immunotherapy in a trial was cancer-free after treatment and six in 10 also did not require an operation.
Surgery is the standard treatment with chemotherapy afterwards to eliminate the tumors.
Treatment with the drug before an operation was enough to cure more than half of the study patients and reduced the risk of relapse for the rest.
The blockbuster drug, known as Keytruda, is already used on the NHS for other types of cancer.
Trial leader Dr Kai-Keen Shiu, from University College London, said: “Our results show that this is a safe and highly effective treatment that increases the chances of curing the disease at an early stage.”
Intestinal tumors are the third most common form of the disease in England, with 43,000 cases per year.
Gut awareness increases thanks to Dame Debs
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Public awareness is rising thanks to campaigners such as Sun writer Dame Deborah James, who died from the disease in 2022 aged just 40.
Around 3,000 Britons each year contract the type of tumor studied in the study, which was MMR-deficient/MSI-high stage two or three cancer.
Genetic mutations make eradication difficult, so doctors tried to treat 32 patients with pembrolizumab for nine weeks before surgery to increase their chances.
It’s an infusion that blocks cancer’s ability to shut down the immune system.
This means that the patient’s own white blood cells can be released to fight the tumor naturally.
If you melt the tumor before surgery, you typically triple your chances of survival.
Dr. Kai-Keen Shiu
Fifty-nine percent of people in the study, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference, were cancer-free before the date of surgery.
The remaining 41% went into remission after both treatments.
Shiu added: “If you melt the cancer before surgery, you typically triple the chances of survival.
“Currently, the probability of surviving for three years after surgery without recurrence is about 75 percent, but we hope this treatment will approach 90 to 100 percent.”
Professor Mark Saunders, from Christie Cancer Hospital in Manchester, said: “This is a very exciting new treatment for the 10 to 15 per cent of patients who have the correct genetic makeup.
“Immunotherapy before surgery could become a game changer for these patients.
“Not only is the result better, but it also prevents patients from having more conventional chemotherapy, which often has more side effects.
“In the future, immunotherapy could even replace the need for surgery.”
The signs of bowel cancer you need to know – remember the BOWEL
- B:Bleeding
There are several possible causes of bleeding from the bottom, of blood in poop.
Bright red blood can come from swollen blood vessels, hemorrhoids, or hemorrhoids in the anus.
Dark red or black blood may come from the intestines or stomach.
Blood in the stool is one of the main signs of bowel cancer, so it’s important to mention it to your doctor so they can investigate.
2. O: Obvious change in bathroom habits
It is important to inform your GP if you notice any changes in your bowel habits that last three weeks or longer.
It’s especially important if you also notice signs of blood in your poop.
You may notice that you need to go to the bathroom more often, you may have looser stools, or you may feel like you are not going enough or emptying your bowels completely.
Don’t be embarrassed, your doctor has probably heard much worse! Speak and check.
3. W: Weight Loss
This is less common than the other symptoms, but it is important to be aware. If you’ve lost weight and don’t know exactly why, it’s worth talking to your doctor.
You may not feel like eating, feel sick, bloated and not hungry.
4. E: Extreme tiredness
Bowel cancer that causes bleeding can cause a lack of iron in the body – anemia. If you develop anemia, you are likely to feel tired and your skin will become pale.
5. L: lump or pain
As with many other forms of cancer, a lump or pain can be a sign of bowel cancer.
You’re more likely to feel a pain or lump in your stomach or anus.
See your doctor if it doesn’t go away or if it affects the way you eat or sleep
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
