A new experimental cancer drug cures each rectal patient in a trial after undergoing experimental immunotherapy with drug called dostarlimab, the New England Journal of Medicine reported on Sunday.
The trial led by researchers from New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center, where the patients received a dose of dostarlimab every three weeks for six months.
Furthermore, no case required chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery during their one year follow up period.
After one year since the trial ends, doctors examine the 12 colorectal cancer patients and they could not find any signs of the cancer.
“We will do more research to find out the effect of the drug on other types of cancer, such as stomach, prostate and pancreas,” said Luis Diaz, a member of the US National Cancer Council.
Rectal cancer is the fifth most common type of tumor in Egypt and part of its causes is genetic defects, Ola Khorshid, professor of Oncology and head department of Oncology in the National Cancer Institute at Cairo University.
She added that the other part related to poor nutrition, such as excessive consumption.
Dostarlimab, a monoclonal antibody drug that approved to treat endometrial cancer in UK in 2021, it costs about $11,000 per 500mg dose in US.
