Dear Doctors: I saw on the evening news that some doctors in New York City actually cured rectal cancer with a new drug. My dad has rectal cancer, and when.
The patients in the study will now undergo several years of follow-up and observation. Researchers were startled when no trace of cancer was detected in any of the 12 study participants. When a tumor is located close to the rectum, surgery to remove it will leave the patient dependent on a colostomy bag. Known as dostarlimab, it’s fairly new, having been approved by the FDA for use as a cancer treatment in early 2021. You’re correct that this research was conducted by doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. And while it’s also correct that the study focused on rectal cancer, the scope was actually quite narrow. Their tumors also shared a certain kind of genetic anomaly that appears in fewer than 10% of patients and makes this subset of rectal cancer difficult to treat.