A small clinical trial discovered that every single rectal cancer patient who got an experimental treatment saw their disease vanish, in what looks to be a miracle and a "first in history". According to the New York Times, 18 patients took a medicine named Dostarlimab for six months in a limited clinical trial done by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and all of them saw their tumours shrink at the end.
Experts stated that the malignancy is undetectable by physical examination, endoscopy, positron emission tomography or PET scans, or MRI scans. This shows that Dostarlimab has the potential to be a 'possible' cancer cure for one of the most lethal tumours.
This is "the first time this has happened in the history of cancer," according to Dr. Luis A. Diaz J. of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dostarlimab is a medicine made in a lab that functions as a surrogate for antibodies in the human body, according to specialists.
According to the New York Times, individuals in the clinical experiment previously received treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and invasive surgery, all of which could cause bowel, urinary, and sexual dysfunction. The 18 patients expected to have to go through these surgeries as the next step in the research. However, they were surprised to learn that no more therapy was required. Experts were astounded by the trial's outcomes, stating that total remission in every single patient is "unheard-of."
Dr Alan P. Venook, who is a colorectal cancer specialist at the University of California, said that the complete remission in every single patient is "unheard-of". He hailed the research as "world-first".
Experts praised the study because not all of the participants experienced serious side effects from the medication trial.
"There were a lot of happy tears," said Oncologist Dr Andrea Cercek, describing the moment patients found out they were cancer-free as quoted by New York Times.
According to doctors, the patients, during the trial, took Dostarlimab every three weeks for six months. "It is noteworthy that they were all in similar stages of their cancer. The cancer was locally advanced in the rectum but had not spread to other organs," added doctors.
"At the time of this report, no patients had received chemoradiotherapy or undergone surgery, and no cases of progression or recurrence had been reported during follow-up,' researchers wrote in the study published in the media outlet.
According to cancer researchers who studied the medicine, it appears to be promising, but a larger-scale trial is required.
(With ANI inputs)
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