Immunotherapy breakthrough could see 'all signs of cancer' disappear

Researchers say it could make a huge difference to patients’ quality of life

A new US study suggests immunotherapy alone may be enough to treat some cancers.

It’s estimated that almost two in five Australians will be diagnosed with cancer, and many will require painful, life-altering treatment. 

Now, researchers from the US claim a new immunotherapy-based treatment could shrink tumours without chemotherapy or surgery. 

What is immunotherapy? 

Immunotherapy is often used in conjunction with chemotherapy or surgery. 

The treatment is aimed at boosting the body’s immune system to fight cancer while chemotherapy kills cancer cells.

As per Cancer Council, ‘checkpoints’ are proteins that live on the surface of a type of white blood cell, and can stop the immune system from being able to attack cancer cells. 

‘Checkpoint inhibitors are drugs designed to block these proteins to enable the T-cells to recognise and destroy cancer cells.’ These are available in Australia for the treatment of some types of cancers. 

She said the approach was developed to try to reduce the negative effects of chemotherapy and surgery on some patients’ quality of life. Image: iStock

Treating tumours with immunotherapy alone

A team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York conducted experimental treatment on 103 cancer patients aged between 26 and 87 with the checkpoint inhibitor, dostarlimab.

Gastrointestinal medical oncologist Dr Andrea Cercek led the trial. She said the approach was developed to try to reduce the negative effects of chemotherapy and surgery on some patients’ quality of life.

“Using the standard-of-care treatment of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy to treat rectal cancer is effective,” she explained. “But the treatments can leave people infertile and severely affect bowel, urinary, and sexual functions as well as other aspects of daily life.”

The doctors involved suggested the drug could treat cancers without chemotherapy or surgery. Image: iStock

The doctors involved suggested the drug could treat cancers without chemotherapy or surgery, as close to 80 per cent of these patients were reportedly ‘successfully treated’ with only immunotherapy.

4 of the participants had some form of ‘solid tumor cancers’ – 49 with rectal cancer, and other types including stomach, endometrial and prostate.

In a press release from the cancer centre, the team said, ‘Of these 54 patients, 35 experienced a complete clinical response — meaning all signs of their cancer disappeared, according to a variety of tests.’

Nearly 2 out of 3 patients with types of cancer other than rectal were able to preserve their organs and their quality of life. Image: iStock

Cerek said, “Nearly 2 out of 3 patients with types of cancer other than rectal were able to preserve their organs and their quality of life” following the immunotherapy treatment. 

“We found that some cancer types responded extremely well to the immunotherapy, including colon and stomach cancer.”

The oncologist suggested that the 20 per cent of non-rectal cancer patients who still had to have surgery “saw lower rates of cancer recurrence."

They noted that the drug only seemed to be effective for patients who had a particular mutation. Image: Getty

The team claimed that while one patient had a growth on a lymph node that had to be surgically removed following treatment, the 49 participants with rectal cancer showed “no evidence of cancer after immunotherapy”.

They noted that the drug only seemed to be effective for patients who had a particular mutation.

Cerek said the study could show “that a broad range of tumors with this genetic mutation, called MMRd, can be treated with immunotherapy replacing surgery and radiation, giving patients better quality of life”.

Originally published as Immunotherapy breakthrough could see 'all signs of cancer' disappear