So, there’s been this new trial, right? They found out that adding immunotherapy treatment alongside extended radiotherapy can help patients with advanced rectal cancer. Pretty cool stuff, if you ask me.
The trial was done all over the UK and reported super high rates of complete response among rectal cancer patients. Especially in the group that got immunotherapy with short course radiotherapy. Fancy, right?
Led by the University of Glasgow and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, this randomised phase II PRIME-RT trial tested out different radiotherapy regimens in patients with big, mean tumors. They wanted to see if adding immunotherapy could make a difference. And guess what? It did! A whopping 52% of patients had complete remission. That’s way more than they were expecting, like 30% more. And get this, the immunotherapy didn’t seem to cause any major side effects. Win-win!
Now, rectal cancer is no joke. It takes out about 410 people in Scotland every year and 4,100 across the UK. That’s a lot of folks. And get this, the number of young people getting rectal cancer is going up. In Scotland, it’s gone up by over 50% in the last 20 years. Yikes!
But, here’s the kicker – around 1,100 people get diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK. And guess what? Rectal cancer makes up a big chunk of those cases. So, finding better treatments is crucial, especially for folks who get diagnosed at later stages.
The usual treatment for rectal cancer involves surgery. And a lot of the time, patients end up needing a stoma or colostomy. Not fun, right? But this trial was all about finding new ways to treat the disease without needing surgery.
They tested out the treatment on 46 patients across the UK. And get this – both groups had super high rates of complete remission. Like, 67% and 48%. And even after 18 months, over half of the patients were still in remission. That’s pretty darn good, if you ask me.
The Chief Investigator of the trial, Professor Campbell Roxburgh, was over the moon with the results. He said they were aiming to increase remission rates and avoid surgery. And boy, did they deliver! The combo of immunotherapy and radiotherapy really did the trick. Who knew?
Moving forward, they’re planning more trials to build on these results. They want to understand why some patients don’t respond as well and need surgery. It’s all about getting more precise with the treatment, you know?
Funded by AstraZeneca UK, this trial was a real team effort. Cancer Research UK was thrilled with the results, saying that combining different therapies can really make a difference. And hey, if it means fewer surgeries and more people in remission, then count me in!
So, there you have it – a new hope for folks with advanced rectal cancer. Who knew that a little immunotherapy could make such a big difference? Not me, that’s for sure. But hey, the more we know, the better we can fight this thing. Right?
