Preoperative Immunotherapy Successfully Keeps Colon Cancer Patients Cancer-Free for Three Years

Researchers at University College London have demonstrated that immunotherapy administered for up to nine weeks before surgery can keep colon cancer patients cancer-free for three years. In 59 percent of patients, no cancer residue was detected during surgery, and no recurrence was observed 33 months later. Dr. Kai-Kin Siu described pembrolizumab as a safe and effective treatment. (April 23, Kathmandu)

A significant breakthrough has been achieved in the treatment of colon cancer. A clinical trial led by University College London researchers found that short-term immunotherapy prior to surgery successfully maintained patients free of cancer for approximately three years. This advancement poses a major challenge to traditional treatment methods, which involve surgery followed by months of chemotherapy. The study, named ‘NeoPrism-CRC,’ included patients with stage II and III colon cancer.

Participants received the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab for up to nine weeks before surgery. Initial results revealed that 59 percent of these patients showed no cancer residue at the time of surgery, and at 33 months of follow-up, no cancer recurrence was detected. This outcome is considered significantly more effective compared to conventional treatment, where around 25 percent of patients who undergo surgery followed by chemotherapy experience cancer recurrence within three years. The new approach appears capable of fully eradicating cancer and preventing its return.

Based on the treatment’s success, researchers have developed a personalized blood test that can detect residual cancer DNA at an early stage. This technology will enable physicians to determine precisely which patients require additional therapy and which do not. Dr. Kai-Kin Siu, the lead investigator, expressed enthusiasm over the absence of cancer recurrence in any patient over three years, reinforcing confidence in pembrolizumab as a safe and effective treatment for high-risk colon cancer patients.

Seventy-three-year-old trial participant Christopher Burston shared his experience, noting that doctors described his post-surgery result as ‘cancer melted and gone.’ The immunotherapy had an immediate effect, leading to his recovery from stage III cancer, and he now lives a normal life. This treatment is particularly effective for patients with the genetic subtype known as MMR-deficient/MSI-high colon cancer. According to scientists, immunotherapy activates the body’s immune system against cancer, resulting in a long-lasting and robust effect.