Warriors win a major battle with a new colorectal cancer treatment
Colorectal cancer treatment in the past (6 years ago), consisted of standard chemotheraphy which aims to essentially deprive the tumor cells of their necessary chemical environment for living. In the past few years, chemotherapy has advanced to include new drugs that make that environment even more toxic to the cancer, but one of the most remarkable advances has been in the development of drugs that target the genes that lie at the center of colorectal cancer cells.
All cancer treatments would ideally destroy the tumor completely, but that is not always possible. Surgical removal of cancer tumors has proven successful for many types of cancers, but metastatic tumors are tumors that are growing and may even spread to other organs of the body or, have already spread when dioagnosed. Surgical removal of a metastatic tumor does not mean that the cancer has been removed. We have to remember, cancer is a cellural disease. A cancerous cell may be easily missed by surgery. Chemotherapy increases the probability that a migrated cancer cell will be exposed to the treatment and destroyed as the entire body is exposed to the serum.
A relatively new drug that contains the progression of colorectal cancer, in most cases, and shrinks the cancer in some cases is now being used in colorectal cancer treatment. Unlike conventional chemotherapy drugs, this drug is a gene-targeting drug. Now, when diagnosed, the war on the disease begins with a metastatic colorectal cancer treatment that targets one of the cancer's genes. A genetic study of colorectal cancer revealed that it expresses a gene called KRAS. Genes, for any number of reasons, mutate, and the normal KRAS gene, also called the wild-type KRAS, has a mutated variant. At least one of the KRAS tyes is found in the colorectal cancer cell. If you are able to destroy the gene, you destory the cell. KRAS becomes a prized target for colorectal cancer treatment.
In 2007, the drug Erbitux was developed and tested to serve as the weapon that targets KRAS genes. In a study involving 1,200 test subjects, the drug was admisintered to a test group which was undergoing conventional chemotheraphy, but Erbitux was not administered to a control group, which was also being treated with conventional chemotheraphy. The test group was further subdivided, according to whether their colorectal cancer cells contained the wildtype KRAS or the mutated type. Fully 64 percent of the test group had the wildtype, which means that persons with colorectal cancer have a better than 50 percent chance of also having the wildtype KRAS in their cancer cells. These patients are forutnate, in that Eritux was found to be effective in halting progression of the cancer and shrinking it. Those with the mutant KRAS showed no effect.
Metastatic colorectal cancer patients may survive for many years, but only about 25 percent of patients survive up to a year. Patients being treated with Erbitux, however, have their chances of surviving up to a year increased by 18 percent: colorectal cancer treatments using Erbitux give a patient a 43 percent chance of surviving for a year. 43 percent of the patients had the risk of progression decreased by 32 percent, and 59 percent of these patient saw their turmors reduced!
We don't often hear these victories proclaimed as loudly as some potitical election, nor do we have jubliant celebrations when a major battle on the cancer front is won. We don't know who these people are who have made it possible for over a third of the afflicted group to receive a metastatic colorectal cancer treatment that is effective in pummeling this enemy of human life. To them, we take off our hats. Let us hope and pray for them and that more like them will take up arms against this outrageous fortune. Many lives depend on these warriors of science. Good luck to them.