Colorectal cancer is one of the most common in France with nearly 50,000 new cases each year. Surgery, followed by chemotherapy, is the standard treatment to overcome it. Currently, five-year survival rates are 90% for patients who are diagnosed at stage one, 65% for those diagnosed at stage two, and 10% for stage 3.
In search of new treatments against aggressive forms of cancer, researchers at University College London have developed an immunotherapy drug that could “triple the chances of survival” patients and avoid surgery. Their work was presented at the annual conference of theAmerican Society of Clinical Oncology.
An immunotherapy drug prior to colorectal cancer surgery
As part of this study, scientists recruited 32 stage 2 or 3 bowel cancer patients with a certain genetic profile (high MMR/MSI deficiency) from five hospitals across the Kingdom. -United. Between 10 and 15% of patients suffering from colorectal cancer have this genetic mutation, which makes it difficult to eradicate the tumor with conventional treatments.
For the nine weeks before surgery, participants received the immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab (known as Keytruda), instead of the usual chemotherapy/surgery treatment, and then were monitored for 19 months. The treatment in question allows the dissolution of large, high-risk tumors by the immune system, thus sparing patients the need for invasive intervention.
Six out of ten patients without signs of cancer after immunotherapy treatment
As a result, 59% of patients had no signs of cancer after treatment with pembrolizumab and before their surgery date, and in the remaining 41% the cancer was removed during surgery. “All study participants were cancer-free after treatment, and remain cancer-free many months later”, summarize the researchers. To compare, “When conventional chemotherapy is given to patients with this genetic profile, only less than 5% show no signs of cancer after surgery.”
“Immunotherapy prior to surgery could well be a game-changer for the 10 to 15% of patients with this genetic profile suffering from this type of cancer. Not only is the result better, but it prevents patients from having to undergo more conventional chemotherapy , which often has more side effects. In the future, immunotherapy may even replace the need for surgery.
The next step in the study will be to determine survival and recurrence rates. “We have to wait to see if the patients in our trial remain in remission over a longer period of time”conclude the authors.
