On June 7th, 2022, NPR reported that a tiny cancer drug trial for rectal cancer patients could have changed the outlook of cancer research. This is much-needed good news. Though our clients suffer primarily from mesothelioma, this trial brings hope for further advancements to hopefully find a cure for all cancers one day.
Keep reading to learn more about this treatment. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, our Buffalo lawyers would be glad to meet with you for a free consultation. Give us a call right away.
Cancer Drug Trial News
In what is being described as a miracle, 18 people in the clinical trial of Dostarlimab saw their tumors disappear. Before the trial, all of these patients had been through intense treatments that left them with terrible issues but no closer to remission.
Over six months, the trial took place and was performed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. All 18 participants were given the drug, which is an immune checkpoint inhibitor. All of them have had their tumors disappear.
This type of immunotherapy does not go after cancer cells. It encourages your body to attack cancer cells itself. The side effects of this trial were minimal, and it had a 100% success rate which is entirely unprecedented in cancer research.
Who is the Drug For?
This cancer drug trial was done on patients with rectal cancer. The current intended use is for patients with a particular subgroup of rectal cancer. However, that does not mean that similar research cannot be done for other types of cancer.
Something specific to rectal cancer is that surgery can cause incontinence which often leaves patients afraid to leave their homes. If rectal cancer patients were able to eliminate the need for surgery, they could avoid the unpleasant issues that come with surgery.
Each patient received Dostarlimab every three weeks for six months, and none of the patients had any complications that were significant.
What’s Next?
The next step for this particular cancer drug trial is to put it to a larger sample size. While it is a miracle that 100% of this trial size saw success, it is unlikely that the number will remain 100% effective in larger sample sizes.
A larger sample size will give a better idea of the response rate. Hopefully, if and when a larger trial happens, it will be very optimistic. Many doctors are waiting to tout the treatment as a cure for rectal cancer until a bigger sample size is used to better understand the effectiveness and side effects of the drug.
Free Consultation with a Buffalo Mesothelioma Lawyer
Our client base is primarily those who have been diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses and diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. We fight for our clients to get justice if they were exposed to asbestos at a workplace. We hope that this new trial can help find answers for all types of cancer so our patients can find more optimistic outcomes.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, please contact our office right away. We would be honored to represent your case. We offer free consultations, and we will even come right to your house to do them.