"There were a lot of happy tears": New cancer drug smashes expectations
<p dir="ltr">A new cancer drug has returned phenomenal results after curing almost every patient in the trial phase. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Dostarlimab, a monoclonal antibody drug which produces white blood cells, had already been approved to treat endometrial cancer in the UK.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The cost of Dostarlimab sits at $11,000 (A$15,200) per 500mg dose in the US and has been given to 100 advanced endometrial cancer patients every year.</p>
<p dir="ltr">It was used in the hopes that patients could avoid invasive surgery as well as chemotherapy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">A trial conducted by New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center was looking into whether the drug is effective against rectal cancer tumours.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The trial proved to be a success where all 18 patients went into remission and no cancer was found.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Our message is: Get tested if you have rectal cancer to see if the tumour is MMRd,” lead author of the paper Dr Luis Diaz said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“No matter what stage the cancer is, we have a trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering that may help you.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">The researchers explained that no patients had received prior chemoradiotherapy or undergone surgery. </p>
<p dir="ltr">“The results enabled us to omit both chemoradiotherapy and surgery and to proceed with observation alone,” they said.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“The implications for quality of life are substantial, especially among patients in whom standard treatment would affect childbearing potential.”</p>
<p dir="ltr">Dr Andrea Cercek said there were “a lot of happy tears” when patients were told about the success of the drug. </p>
<p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>
