There is positive news for the global healthcare system, as
a clinical study of 18 cancer patients has shown that it is effective in removing
cancer from their bodies. According to the New York Times, Dostarlimab appears
to have cured every participant who had rectal cancer in the study. Dostarlimab
was used for six months, and after more than 12 months, doctors found that
their cancer was gone.
They are all in a similar stage of cancer - it develops
locally in the rectum, but does not spread to other organs. Dostarlimab is a
drug with laboratory-made molecules that act as surrogate antibodies in the
human body.
"I believe this is the first time this has happened in
the history of cancer," said Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr, the author of the paper
published on Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine, in reference to the
breakthrough results.
According to her cancer, her cancer had completely
disappeared and was not very detectable on physical examination; endoscopy;
positron emission tomography of PET scan or MRI scan.
The researchers, published in the New England Journal of
Medicine on Sunday, wrote: "At the time of this report, no patients had
been treated with hemoradiotherapy or surgery, and no progression or recurrence
had been reported during follow-up."
Meanwhile, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and
co-author of the article, oncologist Dr. Andrea Cercek, described a moment when
patients knew they did not have cancer. "There were a lot of happy
tears," he told the New York Times.
The final result of this trial has shocked experts around
the globe and they have pointed out that complete remission in every single
patient is “unheard-of". Although the trial size was small, Dostarlimab
can be a potential cure for one of the deadliest common cancers.