Immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab triples survival rates in MMR-deficient/MSI-high bowel cancer patients in a phase II UK trial.

Immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, given before surgery instead of chemotherapy, has shown to triple survival rates for MMR deficient/MSI-high bowel cancer in a phase II clinical trial. The trial, involving 32 patients from five NHS hospitals in the UK, found over 50% of patients treated with pembrolizumab were cancer-free after surgery, compared to 4% of those treated with pre-operative chemotherapy. The drug has the potential to replace traditional surgery and chemotherapy treatments.

June 02, 2024
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