New Study Could Make Drastic Change In Cancer Treatment
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A new, first-of-its-kind study may change the way some cancer patients are treated. Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York say their study is an example of how precision medicine can work.
Linh Bui reports.
According to this landmark research, a drug focused on a single genetic mutation can be effective across multiple cancer types---although blocking the mutation does not guarantee success.
Three years ago, Ivette Giancola was having abdominal and back pain. Tests revealed the then-37-year-old mother had stage four pancreatic cancer.
"You always hear the words `metastasized' so it's scary. It's very, very scary. I was not sure if I was going to make it," she said.
After almost two years of aggressive treatments, doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center told her the mutation in her tumor made her a good candidate for a new study.
"You're able to select patients appropriately based on the genetics in their tumor and give them an effective therapy," said Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Developmental Therapeutics Acting Director Dr. David Hyman.
Researchers decided the study to look at the specific mutations in the tumor, rather than just where the cancer started. They had success in treating different types of cancer using a melanoma drug that targets the mutation.
"This is the first of its kind. We're going to see more and more studies like this," Hyman said.
Two months after starting the study, Giancola's tumors shrank 25%.
"I feel very lucky. I'm very blessed. I didn't know if I was going to make it three years," Giancola said.
Results of the international clinical trial were just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Researchers looked at more than 120 patients with lung, ovarian and colorectal cancers.