Cancer research has, in the last few years made leaps and bounds towards better combating one of the most prolific killers worldwide; but never before has a breakthrough like this created as much buzz in the medical community.
According to the Guardian, the drug trial which took place in the UK brought about amazing results, with 58% of patients seeing zero cancer growth in a year and some tumours reaching a stable phase after just 11.5 months. The most spectacular part, however, is that along with the latter finding, doctors saw tumours starting to shrink as well.
According to Professor Roy Herbst, chief medical oncologist at the Yale Medical Centre in the States, the treatment could be an effective replacement for chemotherapy within the next five years.
The treatment uses the body’s immune system to attack the cancer cells and the trial was run with 945 patients with advanced stages of cancer.
“I think we are seeing a paradigm shift in the way oncology is being treated. The potential for long-term survival, effective cure, is definitely there,” said Professor Herbst.
First published on TheSouthAfrican.com