New Path for the Fight Against Cancer

Each time a person is told they have cancer, the chances of survival tend not to be in their odds. This may be changing though as a recent successful treatment in California confirmed that a new drug can be used to combat cancer cells.

Seven months ago, Maurice Ray, a resident of Duarte California began a clinical trial for an immunotherapy drug known as keytruda. Today he is cancer free.

Keytruda differs from chemotherapy in the way that it attacks cancer cells. Instead of using radiation to kill the cancerous cells, keytruda instead targets cellular pathways which helps the body to fight off cancer using its own immune system.

The doctor who administered Maurice with the drug, Dr. Sumanta Kumar Pal, is very excited about all of the upside this drug has. For starters, cancer treatment is no longer dependent on where in the body the tumor originated from. Instead, they can check for its bio markers, and then administer keytruda based on whether or not the tumor would be conducive to this form of drug.

Also, sine keytruda has shown so much success in advanced melanoma, lung, and bladder cancer Dr. Pal says, “What’s really key about this approval is that it allows us to use a particular test to use an immunotherapy drug across the board, irrespective of cancer type.” These three areas of testing were just the beginning, but its applications are limitless. He has spoken of potentially applying it to advanced breast and lung cancer.

Keytruda does not only have to be applied to these more common cancers which is its most beneficial positive. Its most enticing factor is that it can also be used in cases of cancers that do not have methods of therapies already being used. Although there are many serious side-effects, this drug may turn out to be the future of cancer treatment.

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