A new treatment seems to help 100% of people with a type of colorectal cancer, Elizabeth Tracey reports

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A genetic form of colorectal cancer responds to treatment with a type of cancer drug known as an immune checkpoint inhibitor extremely well, a new study reveals. William Nelson, director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, reviews the study.

Nelson: Since the inherited defect they had often presents an opportunity to use one of these immune checkpoint inhibitors and the one they used was called dostarlimab, so they got this drug as their only treatment before surgery. They wanted to see how well it worked and they wanted to go back in and rebiopsy and see if it wasn’t working why not. Much to their surprise it didn’t work very well, it worked incredibly well. All twelve of the people they treated so far, and the trial is ongoing, they’re accruing more people to it, had basically all the cancer disappear.  :31

Nelson notes that follow up so far is only several months, so additional time must pass to see how durable this stellar result remains. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.