Breakthrough for Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
Hundreds of thousands of people with advanced head and neck cancer could live longer thanks to immunotherapy medication without their cancer returning, according to a clinical study. This is the first sign of a breakthrough for patients with this difficult cancer for 20 years, scientists say behind research.
A Personal Story of Survival
Laura Marston, 45, from Derbyshire, says that she is "amazed that after a diagnosis of advanced tongue cancer, she would survive" bad "chances of survival six years ago for" worst ". She received immunotherapy before and after the operation, which helps researchers learn to learn the body when he returns.
Challenges in Treating Head and Neck Cancer
Cancer in the head and neck are notoriously difficult to treat, and it has changed little in the way in which patients are treated in two decades. More than half of those who diagnosed advanced head and neck cancer die within five years. Laura received only a 30% chance of surviving as long as she was diagnosed in 2019 after she had an ulcer on her tongue that would not disappear.
New Approach to Treatment
The next step was a larger operation to remove her tongue and lymph nodes in her neck, and then she had to learn to talk and eat again. In the context of an international study for new ways to treat the cancer in which experts from the Institute of Cancer Research were involved in London, Laura was one of more than 350 patients, in view of the immunotherapy medication Pembrolizumab before and after the operation to promote the defense of the body.
How the Treatment Works
Prof. Kevin Harrington explains: "We give the immune system the opportunity to take a close look at the tumor to create the immunity of the antitumour, and then we continue to strengthen this immune response after removing the tumor by constantly giving the medication for up to a year." A similar number of patients in which similar types of cancer were diagnosed received the usual care.
Positive Results
The new approach showed positive results. It doubled the duration that the patients were cancer-free on average from around 2.5 to five years. After three years, patients who administered Pembrolizumab had a 10% lower risk of returning their cancer in the body elsewhere.
A Second Chance at Life
Six years later, Laura works all day and says that she is "in a good place and is doing really well". "It was phenomenal for me because I am here and can talk to you. It was not expected that I would get that far," says Laura. "My forecast was pretty bad." She had muscles taken out of her left arm and placed in her mouth to fill the emptiness left by her tongue.
The Future of Head and Neck Cancer Treatment
The researchers say that the key to their results was to give the patient the medication before the operation, which trains the body to hunt and kill the cancer if it ever comes back. Prof. Harrington says that immunotherapy could "change the world" for these patients. "It reduces the likelihood that cancer spreads around the body, significantly. At this point it is incredibly difficult to treat," he said. The approach worked "particularly well" for some patients, but it was "really exciting" to see how the treatment benefited all patients in the study.
