A COMBINATION of two immunotherapy drugs could be used to treat the most common form of bowel cancer, scientists say. "Incredibly exciting" trials showed tumours had shrunk or remained stable in three out of five patients. Botensilimab and balstilimab could "offer new hope" for those diagnosed with a type of cancer that has previously not responded to immunotherapy , researchers from Anglia Ruskin University said.
Both drugs work by triggering the body's immune system to attack cancer cells. Describing the treatment as "potentially game changing", the team said it hopes authorities in the UK will be "able to move quickly" in approving its use. The researchers followed 101 people in the US who were diagnosed with microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer (MSS mCRC) - the most common type of bowel cancer .
After six months, tumours were shown to shrink or remain stable in 61 per cent of the patients. The most common side effects were diarrhoea and fatigue , the researchers said. Until now, immunotherapy has only been shown to work on patients with another type of bowel cancer known as specific mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) tumours, which is rarer.
Close to 43,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK, with around 85 per cent classed as microsatellite stable (MSS). More than 16,800 lose their lives annually, Cancer Research UK statistics show. Justin Stebbing, professor of biomedical sciences at Anglia Ruskin University, said: "These results are.