More patients will be able to be treated with immunotherapy against metastatic colorectal cancers, thanks to the results of the Arethusa clinical study.
This is a phase II study on colorectal cancer, conducted with a new diagnostic-therapeutic approach by the University of Turin, IFOM, Niguarda Hospital and the University of Milan. The study was made possible above all thanks to the AIRC Foundation which supported the special “5 per 1000” program coordinated by Alberto Bardelli.
In the study, the researchers identified a therapeutic strategy that allows metastatic tumors to be treated with immunotherapy, with the prospect of extending the life expectancy of patients and blocking tumor progression. The study coordinated by Professor Alberto Bardelli of IFOM and of the University of Turin constitutes a concrete example of synergy between research and clinic. Using a method that combined liquid biopsy and tissue biopsy, 80 patients were selected for the study who met the requirements for molecular screening of 500 tumors.
Then the researchers started a first therapeutic trial on 47 recruited patients: the first encouraging translational results, based on 21 of these, have now been published in the scientific journal Cancer Discovery.
According to GLOBOSCAN 2020 international statistics, compiled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 10% of new cancer diagnoses refer to colorectal, and in 2020, more than 500,000 new cases were identified in Europe of this pathology. Colorectal cancer is the cause of 9% of cancer deaths, while the 5-year survival rate is around 15% of patients who undergo metastases.
For many people diagnosed with metastatic cancer, immunotherapy is currently the most effective therapeutic strategy for prolonging life expectancy. However, in the case of metastatic colorectal cancers, only a few patients can now benefit from it, since over 90% of these cancers are resistant to immunotherapy.
A sensitive distinction to be able to extend life expectancy, which generally in these patients is a few months, is dictated by the possibility for them to access therapeutic options such as immunotherapy. This is the challenge faced by the phase II Arethusa study, whose newly published results are extremely promising for cancer patients.
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