Typically people with rectal cancer still undergo conventional treatment before surgery

Usually, people with these kinds of rectal tumors would have to undergo chemotherapy and radiation therapy before the cancer could be removed surgically. Unfortunately, many of these treatments have long-term effects that can last the rest of the patient’s life.

Andrea Cercek, an MSK medical oncologist and the first author of the study, says, “The standard treatment for rectal cancer with surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy can be particularly hard on people because of the location of the tumor. They can suffer life-altering bowel and bladder dysfunction, incontinence, infertility, sexual dysfunction, and more.”

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Volunteers for this drug trial managed to avoid all of the above-mentioned conventional rectal cancer treatment procedures and side effects

So far, all of the procedures and side effects that come with them have been entirely avoided by the people who signed up for this trial. In the phase 2 study, patients got dostarlimab every three weeks for six months. They were even set to get standard chemoradiotherapy and surgery if the tumors ever came back. But no tumors or signs of tumors returned to date.

After six months of follow-up, all 12 patients in the trial showed a “clinical complete response,” which means that no tumors were detected using tests like MRI, PET, endoscopy, and biopsy. Sascha Roth, who was the first person to join the trial, stated, “Dr. Cercek told me a team of doctors examined my tests. And since they couldn’t find any signs of cancer, Dr. Cercek said there was no reason to make me endure radiation therapy.”

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The research on the cure for cancer is yet to be completed

It’s important to note that the research, which is being paid for by several groups, including the drug company GlaxoSmithKline, which makes Jemperli, isn’t over. So far, only preliminary results have been released. Currently, 12 people have finished the treatment and have been followed up for at least six months.

About three-quarters of patients have had mild or moderate side effects, such as rash, itching, tiredness, and nausea, but none of them has had their cancer return. The median follow-up is one year, but some patients, like Roth, have been cancer-free for two years.

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The trial is still waiting for more results from the remainder of its participants

The trial is awaiting results from 30 people that have taken part in it. Only when more data is collected on the whole group will the researchers know more about how safe and effective dostarlimab is for people with rectal cancer. But a lot more research needs to be done on larger groups of patients.

Oncologist Hanna K. Sanoff of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who wrote a commentary on the findings, says, “Until such time, we need to treat the current results with both optimism and caution.”

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