Positive trial results of drug that 'melts' cancer tumors

A drug that can "melt away" tumours could dramatically increase the chances of curing colorectal cancer and could even replace surgery, doctors say.

All patients participating in the trial of the drug called Pembrolizumab were noted to have no more tumors after the combined treatment with surgery.

Pembrolizumab targets a specific protein on the surface of immune cells . These cells then seek out and destroy cancer cells.

A clinical trial has shown that using the drug before surgery instead of chemotherapy has led to a significant increase in the number of patients declared cancer-free. The trial results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world's largest cancer conference.

Doctors and scientists say colorectal cancer is on the rise in people under 50. (Photo: Getty Images).

The study was carried out by University College London (UK), University College London Hospital, Christie NHS Foundation Trust - cancer research centre in Manchester, St James's University Hospital in Leeds, University Hospital Southampton and the University of Glasgow.

Professor Mark Saunders, of Christie NHS Foundation Trust, said the trial results were 'really exciting'. He said: 'Giving immunotherapy before surgery could be a game-changer for patients with colorectal cancer. Not only will the results be better, but patients will also avoid having to undergo chemotherapy, which often has many side effects. In the future, immunotherapy could even replace the need for surgery.'

Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses a patient's own immune system to fight cancer.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 1.9 million new cases and more than 900,000 deaths from colorectal cancer each year. In the trial, researchers recruited 32 patients with stage two or three colorectal cancer who had a specific genetic profile from five hospitals in the UK.

Patients were given Pembrolizumab, also known as Keytruda , for nine weeks before surgery instead of undergoing chemotherapy and surgery. They were then monitored over time. Results showed that 59% of patients had no signs of cancer after treatment with Pembrolizumab, and the remaining 41% had their tumors removed during surgery.

All patients in the trial were cancer-free after treatment. Over the next few years, the trial will also assess survival and recurrence rates. This approach means patients will not need chemotherapy after surgery.

Dr Kai-Keen Shiu at University College London Hospitals confirmed it would be necessary to wait and see whether patients in the trial remained cancer-free over the long term. But he said the early signs were positive.

' Immunotherapy can make the tumor disappear before surgery. If you remove the tumor before surgery, the chance of survival increases threefold. If the patient responds completely to Pembrolizumab, their chance of survival can increase threefold. Patients also do not need chemotherapy afterwards, so they avoid side effects,' added Shiu.

Dr Marnix Jansen, at the Cancer Institute at University College London, said more work needed to be done to evaluate Pembrolizumab before the drug could be considered a standard treatment.