Cheers erupted with a standing ovation at last week’s ASCO meeting in Chicago. Presented was exciting data that a new drug DARAXONRASIB can double life expectancy in metastatic pancreatic cancer. Once again, we see successful targeting of a specific genetic mutation that appears to drive the majority of pancreatic cancers. I have to tell you after 35 years of meetings, that oncologists as a group very rarely get this exuberant. Harvard oncologist Brian WOLPIN was simply stating the facts. In reality, it is a game changer and as an oncologist stated a “grand slam“. One of the most resistant -to -treatment cancers is starting to have a moving the needle moment. Once again, immunotherapy plays the role rather than attacking the tumor directly as with surgery, chemo and radiation. We are tapping into the patient’s own immune system. It has worked incredibly well in metastatic melanoma cases with another immuno drug essentially changing the entire trajectory of that disease for those who respond.
More great news was discussed at the conferencing including 30% lower breast cancer incidents in patients on GLP-1 drugs. The prolific cancer of the prostate has even seen tremendous gains in treatment with radio immunotherapies and at Hopkins actually injecting an agent into the prostate, combining it with an antiviral oral drug is being studied and found to reduce progression or recurrence of disease. More optimism in the field of oncology described at ASCO is an oral agent studied in cervical, liver, bladder, non-small cell lung, cancer, squamous cell cancer, head and neck and bowel cancer. Physicians at Oxford have found that when it is added to IV immunotherapy it once again helps the body’s immune system fight disease. Researchers are now discovering at NYU Langone Cancer center that making a vaccine from the patient’s own cells combined with an immunotherapy can attack the most deadly skin cancer, melanoma. Once again personalized cancer vaccines are on the cusp of reality. A multicenter trial from MD Anderson is evaluating implanting collagen tiles during brain surgery for metastatic cancer, delivering targeted radiation therapy and dramatically improving tumor control.
The news is dramatic, the changes are swift, the hope is real and alive. Individualized care is here. As you speak with family and friends, you will find a wealth of diversity among all their treatments, even if it is the “same disease“. Thank you to the amazing oncology physicians worldwide and the ASCO conference presenters for improving quality and longevity and reminding us to never give up hope.
