A new study says that two cancer drugs when taken in combination could shrink tumor cells for up to 60% for patients suffering from advanced-stage melanoma. The said study and international trial involved two drugs namely ipilimumab and nivolumab.
Doctors from Cancer Research UK presented their findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology. They said that these cancer drugs could deliver a potent punch against one of the most aggressive forms of cancer, reports BBC News.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and melanoma is the most aggressive type. It kills more than 2,000 people in UK each year and about 9,000 people die from it in the United States.
Meanwhile, Time reports that the international trial was done on more than 900 people who are suffering from melanoma. They found out that taking both drugs has shrunk tumor cells by at least a third in 58% of patients in an average of 11.5 months or roughly one year.
"By giving these drugs together you are effectively taking two brakes off the immune system rather than one so the immune system is able to recognise tumours it wasn't previously recognising and react to that and destroy them," Dr. James Larkin, a consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital and one of the UK's lead investigators told BBC News.
He added, "For immunotherapies, we've never seen tumour shrinkage rates over 50% so that's very significant to see."
However, there are accompanying side effects of the use of these drugs like fatigue, rashes, and diarrhea. Furthermore, the doctors observed that some of the patients might respond to the treatment while others may have no benefit at all.
Cancer Research UK's senior science information officer said that the research shows that they have discovered a powerful punch against tumor cells. They said that the drugs can increase immunity while blocking the cancer's ability to hide from it.
