В США запущены клинические испытания нового иммунотерапевтического препарата для лечения распространенного рака кишечника и аппендикса

A new experimental treatment for certain patients with cancers in the abdomen (WJAR) — Both Colorectal and appendiceal cancers start in the abdomen but we rarely hear about cancer of the appendix because it's relatively rare--affecting one to two per million people. Colorectal cancer affects about 1 in 25 people. But when either of them spreads, it becomes a challenge to treat. "This is a first in human novel experimental treatment," said Dr. Khaldoun Almahanna, the principal investigator out of Brown University Health. With cancer of the appendix, he'll tell you there are no early symptoms so it's often caught after it's progressed, or diagnosed by accident--when a patient has appendicitis or another abdominal complaint. "The problem with this disease is that when it spreads instead of having one tumor, you have multiple areas of cancers throughout the abdomen and this can also lead to buildup of fluid and can cause swelling, discomfort, loss of appetite, and difficulty eating," said Almahanna. "This treatment is a new drug called ACM-CpG." It was developed by Arcamyra therapeutics. It's for patients with colorectal and appendiceal cancers that have spread but not beyond the wall of the abdomen. These are patients who've not done well with first line treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy. "This is where this drug is going to be tested, in this patient population, where the drug will be injected into the abdomen where the cancer is, hoping to stimulate the immune system to fight the cancer," said Almahanna. So it acts as a sort of immune booster. This is a series of injections done in the four corners of the abdomen laparoscopically. Patients are then checked a month later to see if it's shrinking the tumors. This is a phase one study--which means they're looking at the drug's safety primarily, in addition to its effectiveness. They hope to enroll 20 patients.