Rectal cancer patients may avoid chemotherapy

“The FDA has approved an immunotherapy that could allow some rectal cancer patients to avoid chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. The drug, called dostarlimab, helps the immune system attack tumors with a certain genetic defect. In a clinical trial involving 154 patients whose tumors had this defect, 71 percent needed no additional cancer treatment and showed no signs of disease progression after a median follow-up of around two years,” notes Human Progress.

Time reports:

“Immune-based treatments for cancer have become the biggest new advance in tackling tumors, and the latest approval could make a big difference for some people with rectal cancer.

On Oct. 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved dostarlimab (brand name: Jemperli) to treat a specific type of rectal cancer called microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair deficient cancer. This cancer is caused by the accumulation of certain genetic mutations that prevent rectal cells from repairing DNA damage and accounts for 5-10% of rectal cancers. In a study of 154 people with this type of rectal cancer who were treated with dostarlimab, 68% had a complete clinical response at one year, which meant doctors could not see evidence of tumors on imaging or other methods for tracking the tumors. In the study, which the drug’s manufacturer, GSK, submitted to the FDA, people received nine infusions of the drug: once every three weeks for six months.

‘Not only did they reach clinical complete response, but they maintained that for a year,’ says Dr. Andrea Cercek, section head of colorectal cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and principal investigator of the study. (Some of the earliest patients have continued to remain tumor-free for even longer. ) ‘That really suggests that the response is durable and real.’”

Personalized cancer vaccines cut death rates by 40-50% for skin and breast cancer.

In other news, a new blood test can detect which bowel cancer patients can receive a lifesaving immunotherapy rather than chemotherapy, enabling them to be cancer free after surgery. Around 10-15% of patients with stage two or three bowel cancer have a particular genetic make-up that enables them to benefit from the life-saving immunotherapy known as pembrolizumab.

Even if these medical advances save countless lives, government regulations may delay them from being used for years. The FDA can take years to approve vaccines, medical tests, and drugs. The FDA didn’t approve a home test for HIV until 24 years after it first received an application. According to an FDA advisory committee, the test held “the potential to prevent the transmission of more than 4,000 new HIV infections in its first year of use alone.” That means thousands of people likely got infected with AIDS as a result of the delay in approving it. At least a hundred thousand people died waiting years for the FDA to approve beta blockers.

The FDA has approved a breakthrough drug to treat advanced pancreatic cancer. A cancer researcher recently home-brewed a beer that works as a vaccine.

“The five-year relative survival rate for US cancer patients rose from 49 percent for patients diagnosed in 1975–1979 to 71 percent for those diagnosed in 2016–2022, according to a recent report from the American Association for Cancer Research. Relative survival adjusts for deaths from causes other than cancer by comparing patients with the general population.”

A cancer vaccine for dogs doubles their survival rate for certain types of cancer.

In 2024, a kid was cured of a type of brain cancer that previously always killed kids who had it.