Latest news with #InstituteofCancerResearchinLondon
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
New AI test can predict which men will benefit from prostate cancer drug
Doctors have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can predict which men with prostate cancer will benefit from a drug that halves the risk of dying. Abiraterone has been described as a 'gamechanger' treatment for the disease, which is the most common form of cancer in men in more than 100 countries. It has already helped hundreds of thousands with advanced prostate cancer to live longer. But some countries, including England, have stopped short of offering the 'spectacular' drug more widely to men whose disease has not spread. Now a team from the US, UK and Switzerland have built an AI test that shows which men would most likely benefit from abiraterone. The 'exciting' breakthrough will enable healthcare systems to roll out the drug to more men, and spare others unnecessary treatment. The AI test is being unveiled in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the world's largest cancer conference. Nick James, professor of prostate and bladder cancer research at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and a consultant clinical oncologist at the Royal Marsden NHS foundation trust, co-led the team that built it. 'Abiraterone has already hugely improved the outlook for hundreds of thousands of men with advanced prostate cancer,' said James. 'We know that for many men with cancer that has not yet spread, it can also have spectacular results. 'But it does come with side-effects and requires additional monitoring for potential issues with high blood pressure or liver abnormalities. It can also slightly increase the risk of diabetes and heart attacks, so knowing who is most likely to benefit is very valuable. 'This research shows that we can pick out the people who will respond best to abiraterone, and those who will do well from standard treatment alone – hormone therapy and radiotherapy.' The test uses AI to study images of tumours and pick out features invisible to the human eye. The team, funded by Prostate Cancer UK, the Medical Research Council and Artera, trialled the test on biopsy images from more than 1,000 men with high-risk prostate cancer that had not spread. The AI test identified the 25% of men in the group most likely to benefit from the abiraterone – for these men, the drug halves the risk of death. In the trial, patients received a score – biomarker-positive or -negative – which was compared with their outcomes. For those with biomarker-positive tumours, one in four of the men, abiraterone cut their risk of death after five years from 17% to 9%. For those with biomarker-negative tumours, abiraterone cut the risk of death from 7% to 4% – a difference that was not statistically or clinically significant, the team said. These men would benefit from standard therapy alone and be spared unnecessary treatment. The study co-leader Prof Gert Attard, of the UCL Cancer Institute, said: 'This study shows, in a very large cohort of patients, that novel algorithms can be used to extract information from routinely available pathology slides to tailor these treatments to specific patients and minimise over treatment whilst maximising the chance of cure.' James said that because fewer men than previously thought would need the drug, healthcare systems should consider giving it to men whose cancer had not spread. It is approved for NHS use in England for advanced prostate cancer, but not for newly diagnosed high-risk disease that has not spread. However, it has been available for men with this indication in Scotland and Wales for two years. 'Abiraterone costs just £77 per pack, compared with the thousands of pounds that new drugs cost,' said James. 'I truly hope that this new research – showing precisely who needs the drug to live well for longer – will lead to NHS England reviewing their decision not to fund abiraterone for high-risk prostate cancer that has not spread.' Dr Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, described the AI test as 'exciting'. He added: 'We therefore echo the researchers' urgent call for abiraterone to be made available to those men whose lives it can save – men who, thanks to this research, we can now identify more precisely than ever before.' An NHS spokesperson said: 'Following a full evidence-based assessment, expanding access to this drug for non-metastatic prostate cancer has been identified as one of the top priorities for investment once the necessary recurrent funding is available to support its use. 'Abiraterone continues to be routinely funded by the NHS in England for several forms of advanced prostate cancer in line clinical guidance, and we are keeping this position under close review in light of emerging evidence, including recent research that may help better target the treatment to those most likely to benefit.'
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
4 days ago
- Health
- First Post
'A gift of life': How a cancer drug doubles the survival rate
A new study has revealed that the drug called pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, not only kept head and neck cancers at bay for five years compared to 30 months with standard care but also significantly lowered the chances of cancer spreading read more A drug called pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, kept head and neck cancers at bay for five years compared to 30 months with standard care. Image for Representation. Pixabay Hundreds of thousands of patients with advanced head and neck cancer could live years longer without the disease, thanks to a breakthrough immunotherapy drug, a new clinical trial suggests. The study revealed that the drug called pembrolizumab, sold under the brand name Keytruda, kept head and neck cancers at bay for five years compared to 30 months with standard care. When added to current therapies, it could potentially double the time patients live without a recurrence, making it one of the biggest breakthroughs in two decades. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kevin Harrington, professor of biological cancer therapies at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and lead researcher of the trial, described the development as game-changing. 'This could change the world for these patients,' he told the BBC. 'It significantly decreases the chance of cancer spreading around the body, at which point it's incredibly difficult to treat.' So, how exactly does Pembrolizumab work? And what did the trial reveal? We break it down. 'A gift of life' For Laura Marston, a 45-year-old from Derbyshire, the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab has been nothing short of 'a gift of life'. Back in 2019, Laura noticed an ulcer on her tongue that just wouldn't heal. Tests revealed it was cancer, and doctors gave her only a 30 per cent chance of long-term survival. 'I was 39 and I was devastated,' she told the BBC. The road ahead was tough. She had to undergo major surgery to remove her tongue and the lymph nodes in her neck. After that came the even harder part, learning how to talk and eat again. 'My prognosis was quite dire,' she recalled. Surgeons had to use muscle from her left arm to rebuild the inside of her mouth. It changed her life in every way. But amid the struggle, there was hope. Laura joined an international clinical trial testing a new approach to treatment, one that used pembrolizumab not just after surgery, but also before it. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Patients who received pembrolizumab lived cancer-free for twice as long, five years on average, compared to just 2.5 years with standard treatment. Representational Image/Pixabay The clinical trial, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine and involving scientists from the Institute of Cancer Research in London, enrolled over 700 patients across 24 countries. The trial, which is being presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco), the world's largest cancer conference, showed that the patients who received pembrolizumab lived cancer-free for twice as long, five years on average, compared to just 2.5 years with standard treatment. The drug also cut the chances of the cancer returning elsewhere in the body by 10 per cent after three years. 'Immunotherapy has been amazingly beneficial for patients whose cancer has come back or spread,' said Harrington, who co-led the study, told The Guardian. 'But until now, it hadn't shown this kind of success in people being treated for the first time.' Today, six years after her diagnosis, Laura is working full-time and doing well. 'It's been phenomenal for me,' she said. 'Because I'm here, able to talk to you. Just having this amazing immunotherapy has given me my life back again.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD How does the drug work? Unlike traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy, which attack the tumour directly, immunotherapy works by boosting the body's own defences. It helps the immune system recognise cancer cells and destroy them. In this trial, researchers found that the timing of the drug was key. Patients were given pembrolizumab before surgery, allowing their immune systems to get familiar and kill the cancer if it ever comes back. 'We give the immune system the chance to have a good look at the tumour to generate anti-tumour immunity,' explained Harrington told BBC. 'Then, after removal of the tumour, we continue to amplify that immune response by giving the drug continually for up to a year.' The treatment worked especially well for people with high levels of a protein called PD-L1, which acts as a marker for how active the immune system might be. But even patients without high PD-L1 levels saw clear benefits. The risk of cancer returning or spreading dropped significantly across the board. 'This research shows that immunotherapy could change the world for these patients,' Harrington said. 'It significantly decreases the chance of cancer spreading around the body, and that's when it becomes incredibly difficult to treat.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With input from agencies
