Editorial: Medical Miracle

Cancer, the emperor of maladies, is considered the last frontier of medical knowledge, posing complex challenges that researchers are yet to overcome. It’s still largely a losing battle for humanity, despite tremendous strides made in the medical field. However, a recent drug trial, conducted in the United States, has brought cheers to the patients and the medical fraternity. For the first time in the history of cancer management, a small clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center found that every single rectal cancer patient who received an experimental immunotherapy treatment had their cancer go into remission. This is nothing short of a medical miracle as all the 18 patients found that the cancer vanished completely after undergoing the treatment. The trial has taken the medical world by storm as no cancer drug before this has yielded such overwhelming results. A drug called ‘Dostarlimab’ was administered to the patients for around six months. At the end of the trial, all the patients saw their tumours had disappeared and could not be detected by physical exam, endoscopy, positron emission tomography (PET), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Dostarlimab is a drug with laboratory-produced molecules that work as alternate antibodies in the human body. The patients who had participated in the drug trial had almost given up hopes after failing to recover after going through gruelling previous treatments to obliterate their cancer, such as chemotherapy, radiation and “life-altering” surgeries which resulted in bowel and urinary dysfunction.

To the pleasant surprise of the participants, they no longer needed further treatment and were taken off the agonising chemotherapy, radiation sessions or surgeries. Another positive result for the patients was the total absence of post-treatment complications, usually associated with other forms of cancer treatment. While the new treatment looks promising, a larger-scale trial is required to see if it will work for more patients and if the disease is genuinely in remission. There is a need to exercise caution as the trial size was small and it is still too early to say whether the cancer could return. With further trials, the answers to questions like whether it would work for other cancers and could treat metastasis will be known. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. The most common are breast, lung, colon, rectum, and prostate cancers. Colorectal cancer is the fifth most diagnosed cancer in India and studies indicate growing disease burden with junk food consumption growth. The growing incidence has also forced many countries to recommend colorectal cancer screening between 45 and 75. Hopefully, the new drug, once approved by the authorities, will be made available in countries like India at an affordable price. Too many lives are being lost to colorectal cancer, with current treatment modes struggling to prevent metastasis.