Radical Immunotherapy Drug ‘Effectively Cured’ Dying Cancer Patient With 26 Tumors

Experts are constantly formulating new treatments for people suffering from cancer. Joining those treatments is a radical immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab, which has reportedly cured a dying cancer patient with 26 tumors.

A patient named Mike Chettle was diagnosed with bowel cancer five years ago. Even though he tried a combination of drugs, chemotherapy and surgery, cancer still spread to his liver, abdomen and bones, according to the Telegraph.

Complete Response To Radical Immunotherapy Treatment

Chettle said cancer has spread so fast that he was limping, in a lot of pain and couldn't even move his neck. A total of 26 tumors were detected in his abdomen alone, enough for him to consider end of life care. However, that didn't happen when his oncologist advised him to participate in a "radical" trial at John Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Centre in Baltimore, Maryland, the news outlet further reported.

Chettle's symptoms decreased after using pembrolizumab for eight weeks. Two years of using the drug has removed all of Chettle's tumors. Doctors are hoping that he will be fit to stop all treatments and only put him under observation and regular scans.

What Is Pembrolizumab?

Pembrolizumab, or Keytruda, is approved to treat metastasized forms of melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, the National Cancer Institute wrote. Some of the drug's common side effects are anemia, fatigue, nausea, hyperglycemia, cough and itching, Chemocare listed. Less common side effects include diarrhea, shortness of breath, vomiting, chills, fever and back pain.

For the pembrolizumab treatment trial, experts studied a genetic abnormality called mismatch repair (MMR) deficiency. People with high MMR deficiency have higher chances of responding to the immunotherapy drug, the Telegraph reported.

With pembrolizumab's help, the body's immune system will be able to look for and attack cancer cells. Experts are also working on combining pembrolizumab with other immunotherapy drugs to boost its success rate. Patients who received immunotherapy and standard drugs have a 61 percent survival rate. That percentage is much lower when patients only received standard treatments.

Doctors are beginning to look into gene mutations as the cause of cancer, according to NBC News. Targeting mutated genes are monumental for the fight against cancer.

The new immunotherapy treatment brings new hope for terminal cancer patients. With genetic mutations as the cause of cancer, experts will be able to conduct prevention education and screenings, as well as treatment for both patients and their families. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said targeting genetic mutations is the foundation of his Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which was established in January 2016.