Bowel cancer drug that “shrank tumors by 60% in incredibly exciting trial” hailed as a “game changer”

A COMBINATION of two immunotherapy drugs could be used to treat the most common form of bowel cancer, scientists say.

“Incredibly exciting” trials showed that tumors shrank or remained stable in three in five patients.

Botensilimab and balstilimab could “offer new hope” for those diagnosed with a type of cancer that has previously failed to respond to immunotherapy, researchers at Anglia Ruskin University said.

Both drugs work by stimulating the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells.

Describing the treatment as “potentially revolutionary”, the team said they hope UK authorities will be “able to act quickly” in approving its use.

Researchers followed 101 people in the US who were diagnosed with microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer (MSS mCRC) – the most common type of bowel cancer.

After six months, tumors had shrunk or remained stable in 61% of patients.

The most common side effects were diarrhea and fatigue, the researchers said.

So far, immunotherapy has only been shown to work in patients with another type of bowel cancer known as tumors with specific mismatch repair (dMMR) deficiency, which is rarer.

Close to 43,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK, with around 85% classed as microsatellite stable (MSS).

More than 16,800 lose their lives annually, statistics from Cancer Research UK show.

Justin Stebbing, professor of biomedical sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, said: “These results are incredibly exciting.

“Colorectal or bowel cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer worldwide.

“This is the first time there is convincing evidence that immunotherapy can work on all forms of colorectal tumors, so this is potentially a game changer.

“This is now moving into later phase clinical trials and we hope that the FDA in the United States will approve its use very soon.

“And because this is such an important area, affecting so many people, we hope that the UK authorities will also be able to act quickly.”

Andrea Bullock, assistant professor of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in the US, added: “This study sheds light on the potential of the BOT/BAL combination to treat microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer, the most common form of colorectal cancer that has historically not responded to immunotherapy.

“We hope our results offer new hope for those diagnosed.”

The research is published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Commenting on the study, Lisa Wilde, Director of Research, Policy and Influencing at Bowel Cancer UK, said: “This trial is still at a very early stage, but it shows exciting promise for widening much-needed treatment options for those whose cancer previously would have been resistant to immunotherapy.

“We will continue to follow with interest.”

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common form of the disease in England.

Public awareness is rising thanks to campaigners such as Sun writer Dame Deborah James, who died from the disease in 2022 aged just 40.

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Signs of bowel cancer that could save your life

Bowel cancer is the fourth most common form of the disease in the UK – but the second deadliest, claiming around 16,000 lives a year.

However, it can be cured if diagnosed early.

Fewer than one in ten people survive bowel cancer if it is detected at stage 4, but detected in stage 1 – before it spreads – and more than nine out of ten patients will live five years or more.

There are two ways to ensure early diagnosis, screening and awareness of symptoms.

Brits have been put through a postcode lottery when it comes to bowel cancer screening, with tests sent out in Scotland from the age of 50, while people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have to wait until they are 60. years.

That’s why The Sun launched the Campaign No Time 2 Losecalling on the Government to lower the screening age, to save thousands of lives a year.

In the summer of 2018, The Sun and its readers scored a major victory with the then Health Minister, Matt Hancock, agreeing to start screening at age 50, however this has not yet been widely implemented.

While screening is an important part of early diagnosis, so is knowing the symptoms and taking action if you detect the signs.

O five red flag symptoms they are:

• Bleeding from the anus or blood in poop
• A change in your normal bathroom habits – going more or less frequently, for example
• Pain or lump in the belly
• Extreme tiredness for no real reason
• Unexplained weight loss

If you are worried, Don’t be ashamed and talk to your doctor – Doctors see and deal with intestinal problems all the time.