A new clinical trial has raised hopes of a major breakthrough in the treatment of bowel cancer, after patients remained free of signs of the disease for almost three years following a new treatment method.
Researchers found that patients with a specific form of this cancer did not have a relapse of the disease if they were treated with drugs that strengthen the immune system before surgery.
The results, achieved by teams from University College London and University College London Hospitals, have been described as "extremely encouraging".
Colon cancer is one of the most common, with tens of thousands of new cases each year, and recently an increase has been observed even among young people.
The study involved 32 patients with stage 2 and 3 colon cancer who had a specific genetic profile (MMR-deficient/MSI-high). These patients were treated with immunotherapy for up to nine weeks before surgery, instead of the standard treatment that usually involves surgery followed by chemotherapy.
Initial results showed that the tumors shrank significantly, and in 59% of cases no traces of cancer were found after surgery.
After a follow-up period of 33 months, none of the patients had a relapse of the disease — a very important result, given that usually about a quarter of patients treated with standard methods experience relapse within three years.
Experts believe that this approach, with immunotherapy before surgery, could be an effective way to treat this type of cancer.
According to researchers, one of the most promising aspects is the possibility of predicting which patients will respond best to treatment, through personalized blood tests and immune profiling.
These methods can help tailor treatment to each patient, avoiding unnecessary therapy for some and identifying those who need more intensive treatment.
One of the patients in the study, 73-year-old Christopher Burston, said the treatment had been life-changing. Diagnosed in 2023 through a routine check-up, he underwent immunotherapy and then surgery, with minimal side effects.
According to him, after the surgery, doctors told him that the tumor had almost completely disappeared. Today, more than three years later, he is cancer-free and has returned to a normal life.
The researchers also analyzed blood samples to understand why the treatment was so effective. They developed personalized tests that can show whether the treatment worked and whether any traces of cancer remain in the body.
The results showed that the disappearance of tumor DNA from the blood was strongly correlated with the absence of cancer in the body, while analysis of the immune system could help predict response to treatment.
Although larger studies are needed to confirm these findings, the current results are considered an important step towards more personalized and effective treatments for colon cancer. /GazetaExpress/
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