New Colorectal Cancer Breakthrough Could Eradicate Tumors Without Surgery
Summary
Researchers have found that some colorectal cancers can be completely treated using immunotherapy alone, without the need for surgery or chemotherapy. This discovery could lead to less invasive treatments for certain patients, especially those with specific genetic types of colorectal cancer.Key Facts
- Immunotherapy using PD-1 inhibitors has led to complete remission in some patients with advanced rectal cancer.
- This approach works best for cancers with deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) or high microsatellite instability (MSI-H).
- Surgery for rectal cancer can have major side effects like the need for a colostomy or long-term bowel problems.
- Larger clinical trials are needed to confirm if immunotherapy alone can become the new standard treatment.
- Other new treatments, such as drug combinations in trials like SUNLIGHT, FRESCO-2, and therapies for HER2-positive cancers, are also showing promise.
- Colorectal cancer often starts as harmless polyps that may turn cancerous over time.
- Screening is important and usually starts at age 45 for average-risk people; it helps find and remove polyps early.
- Symptoms of colorectal cancer can include bowel changes, blood in stool, abdominal pain, weight loss, and weakness, but early cancer often causes no symptoms.
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