A small clinical study has found that every rectal cancer patient who received experimental treatment saw their disease clear up in what appears to be a miraculous "first in history." According to the New York Times, in a limited clinical trial conducted by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 18 patients took a drug called dostarlimab for six months, eventually seeing all of their tumors shrink.

Experts explained that malignancy cannot be detected by physical examination, endoscopy, positron emission tomography, PET or MRI. This shows that dostarlimab has the potential to be a "possible" cancer cure for one of the deadliest tumors.

according to dr. Luis A. Diaz J. of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, this is "the first time this has happened in the history of cancer." Dostarlimab is a laboratory drug which, according to specialists, acts as a substitute for antibodies in the human body.

     

According to the New York Times, people in the clinical trial were previously receiving treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and invasive surgery, all of which could cause bowel, urinary and sexual dysfunction. All 18 patients were to undergo these surgeries as the next step in the investigation. However, they were surprised to learn that no further therapy was needed. Experts were amazed at the study results, noting that complete remission in an individual patient was "unheard of".

Dr Alan P. Venook, a colorectal cancer specialist at the University of California, said complete remission was "unheard of" in all patients. He described the research as a "world first".

Experts praised the study because not all participants suffered serious side effects from the study drug.

"There were a lot of tears of joy," oncologist Dr. Andrea Cercek said, describing the moment patients were told they were cancer-free, as quoted by The New York Times.

The doctors said the patients took dostarlimab every three weeks for six months during the study. "It is remarkable that they were all at similar stages of their cancer. The cancer had progressed locally in the rectum but had not spread to other organs," the doctors added.

"At the time of this report, no patient had received chemoradiotherapy or surgery, and no cases of progression or recurrence during follow-up were reported," the researchers wrote in the study published in the media. .

This looks promising, according to cancer researchers who have studied the drug, but a larger study is needed.


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