Bowel cancer patients have been crying "happy tears" after clinical trials for a new drug left all patients in remission.
The patients all took the monoclonal drug Dostarlimab, also known by the brand name Jemparli, every three weeks for six months in a recent trial run in New York that smashed expectations.
Despite only being a small trial of 18 people, the study shocked doctors with how effective it was and provides hope for many sufferers who face gruelling treatment such as chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
"It's really what cancer doctors' dreams are made of to see a response like this," medical oncologist and part of the research team Dr Andrea Cercek told CNN.
The drug is a type of immunotherapy that works by unlocking the body's natural immune system to fight cancer.
It recognises the cancer is foreign and gets rid of it, but Dr Cercek said what was really remarkable was it completely illuminated it.
"Tumours just vanished," she said.
Dr Cercek said the results were unexpected and many patients were preparing to go through taxing treatments that can end up with complications such as needing colostomy bags.
But she said the patients felt great after treatment and had normal body functions.
"There were a lot of happy tears," Dr Cercek said.
Bowel cancer is the second-highest cause of cancer death in New Zealand and around three Kiwis die from it every day.
While the study was small, experts hope to replicate it to help fight other cancers.
One of the co-leaders of the paper, Head of Solid Tumor Oncology in Memorial Sloan Kettering's Department of Medicine Dr Luis A. Diaz, said they are investigating whether the method can help other cancers such as stomach, prostate, and pancreatic cancers.
"I believe this is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer," Dr Diaz Jr told The New York Times.
