NYC cancer trial produces miracle results: all subjects cured 

An NYC-led cancer trial achieved an unprecedented result: the total remission of cancer in its patients. The results were reported on Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine. 

The trial, led by doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering and sponsored by drug maker GlaxoSmithKline, tested the drug “dostarlimab” on 12 patients that had a specific type of cancer in its early stages with a rare mutation. 

“All 12 patients had rectal cancer that had not spread beyond the local area, and their tumors all exhibited a mutation affecting the ability of cells to repair damage to DNA,” reported NBC New York. 

With the drug, all patients showed complete remission of the cancer without needing surgery or chemotherapy. There was no trace of cancer found anywhere in their bodies by physical exams, endoscopy, P.E.T. scans, or M.R.I. scans.

“All 12 patients (100%; 95% confidence interval, 74 to 100) had a clinical complete response, with no evidence of tumor on magnetic resonance imaging, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron-emission tomography, endoscopic evaluation, digital rectal examination, or biopsy,” said the report. 

Furthermore, none of the patients had severe side effects after taking the drug. Additionally, there was no instance of a recurrence of cancer in the patients in follow-up appointments up to 25 months after the trial concluded. 

“I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer,” said Dr. Luis A. Diaz, an author of the study. 

Colorectal cancer specialist Dr. Alan P. Venook said that the results of the trial were “unheard-of.”

The medication, which cost around $11,000 per dose, was given to the patients every three weeks for six months. The drug “unmasks cancer cells, allowing the immune system to identify and destroy them,” said a report by The New York Times. 

Doctors believe that the results of the test are promising. However, the trial needs to be replicated and expanded in order to conclude that the drug is completely effective and can be used to treat this type of cancer. 

“I told my family,” said Sascha Roth, one of the patients that participated in the trial. “They didn’t believe me.”