Promising results for a new Colorectal Cancer treatment

A new tablet treatment called divarasib has shown it is very effective in treating a challenging type of Colorectal Cancer associated with the KRAS G12C mutation. Research, published in Nature Medicine, has shown remarkable results in 62% of people with KRAS G12C mutated Colorectal Cancer achieving a positive response to treatment when given divarasib in combination with another cancer treatment called cetuximab. These results are incredibly impressive.

Although the KRAS G12C mutation only occurs in approximately 4% of patients with Colorectal Cancer, it is routinely tested for, so researchers’ ability to identify the right patients to offer such trial treatment to is straightforward. The median progression-free survival for patients in the study was just over eight months and the treatment was well tolerated with manageable side effects. While this is not a head-to-head trial, the response rates are better than what the researchers have seen with other treatments that work on the KRAS G12C mutation pathway.

The researchers are very hopeful that this combination of divarasib with cetuximab will translate into better outcomes for Colorectal Cancer patients. Early drug development trials require a very experienced team with specialized skills and the team have to be extraordinary at ensuring the best for the patients and trial compliance. KRAS is a key protein that controls how cancer cells divide and survive and when the KRAS-G12C protein mutates it makes cells, including cancer cells, more likely to divide uncontrollably leading to the development of tumors.

Colorectal Cancer starts in your colon, the long tube that helps carry digested food to your rectum and out of your body.

It develops from certain polyps or growths in the inner lining of your colon. Healthcare providers have screening tests that detect precancerous polyps before they can become cancerous tumors. Colorectal Cancer that is not detected or treated may spread to other areas of your body. Thanks to screening tests, early treatment and new kinds of treatment, fewer people are dying from it.

Your colon wall is made of layers of mucous membrane, tissue, and muscle. Colorectal Cancer starts in your mucosa, the innermost lining of your colon. It consists of cells that make and release mucus and other fluids. If these cells mutate or change, they may create a colon polyp. Over time, colon polyps may become cancerous. It usually takes about 10 years for cancer to form in a colon polyp.

Left undetected or untreated, the Colorectal Cancer works its way through a layer of tissue, muscle, and the outer layer of your colon. The it may also spread to other parts of your body via your lymph nodes or your blood vessels. It is the third most common cancer diagnosed in people in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), men are slightly more likely to develop colon cancer than women.

Colorectal Cancer affects more people who are Black than people who are members of other ethnic groups or races.

Colorectal Cancer typically affects people age 50 and older. Over the past 15 years, however, the number of people age 20 to 49 with the cancer has increased by about 1.5% each year. Medical researchers are not sure why this is happening. You can have it without having symptoms. If you do have symptoms, you may not be sure if changes in your body are signs of it.

That is because some Colorectal Cancer symptoms are similar to symptoms of less serious conditions. Like all types of cancer, it happens when cells grow and divide uncontrollably. All cells in your body are constantly growing, dividing, and dying. That is how your body remains healthy and working as it should. In this cancer, cells lining your colon and rectum keep growing and dividing even when they are supposed to die.

These cancerous cells may come from polyps in your colon.