A promising "Trojan horse" treatment against six different types of cancer

The researchers concluded the global phase I / II clinical trial of a new type of anti-cancer drug that can enter tumor cells and attack them from within. This "Trojan Horse" approach has been used in advanced drug-resistant cancers and has shown promising results for a small percentage of them.

The results, reported in The Lancet Oncology, showed that tumors contracted or stopped growing in 27% of patients with bladder cancer, 26.5% of patients with bad cancer. cervix, 14% of people with ovarian cancer, 13% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer and 7 percent of those with 39, a cancer of the endometrium. Unfortunately, no changes have been reported in men with prostate cancer.

The new drug called Tisotumab Vedotin (Television) and the clinical trial was led by a team from the London Cancer Institute and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The trial initially recruited 27 patients to evaluate the safety of the drug and the correct dosage, and then was opened to 120 other patients. The responses lasted 5.7 months on average and up to 9.5 months in some patients.

"Our first study showed that it could potentially treat a large number of cancer types, especially those with very low survival rates," said lead researcher Professor Johann de Bono in a statement. "The television has manageable side effects, and we found good responses in patients of our trial, all with advanced-stage cancer, who had been heavily pre-treated with other drugs and short-lived. d & # 39; options. "

The innovative approach is something that many have been waiting for. Despite incredible progress in recent decades, there are several cancers for which treatments do not always work well, especially since they have begun to spread. This could be the beginning of a new arsenal against these types of diseases. The team is already looking into the next steps.

"We have already started additional trials of this new drug in different types of tumors and as a second-line treatment for cervical cancer, where response rates were particularly high. We are also developing a test to select the patients most likely to respond, "added de Bono.

In 2018, 9.6 million people died of cancer, the second leading cause of death in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that it is possible to prevent up to 50% of cancer cases.