Bowel cancer “melted away” after immunotherapy, then stayed away
A short course of immunotherapy before surgery may offer remarkably durable protection for some patients with stage two or three bowel cancer. In the NEOPRISM-CRC trial, 32 patients with a specific genetic form of bowel cancer received pembrolizumab for up to nine weeks before surgery instead of the usual post-surgery chemotherapy. After nearly three years of follow-up, none of the patients had…
Patients with a specific type of bowel cancer remained cancer-free for nearly three years following a brief immunotherapy treatment before surgery, according to new research from the NEOPRISM-CRC clinical trial led by UCL and UCLH. The findings, to be presented at the AACR Annual Meeting in April, build upon earlier results showing pembrolizumab before surgery caused significant tumor reduction in stage two or three bowel cancer patients.
After 33 months of follow-up, none of the participants experienced cancer recurrence, a rate significantly lower than the 25% expected with standard surgery and chemotherapy. Researchers also developed blood tests to predict treatment response and monitor disease progression, potentially tailoring patient care.
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