colon cancer | Colorectal cancer, new therapy approved in Italy: breaks the DNA of diseased cells

Colorectal cancer, new therapy approved in Italy: breaks the DNA of diseased cells




The innovative treatment, based on the combined action of two molecules, attacks the DNA of the tumor cells and breaks it down. It is intended for patients with advanced stage cancer with metastases.
HEALTH 23 JANUARY 2018 13:33 by Andrea Centini

The AIFA, the Italian drug agency, has approved and made repayable for all an innovative treatment against colorectal cancer, one of the most widespread and lethal cancer in our country. The new treatment, based on tablets of trifluridine and tipiracil, is designed for patients in the most difficult and delicate condition, ie those with advanced cancer and proliferation of metastases. It is therefore a so-called third-line therapy, to be administered when basic chemotherapy and biological drugs have exhausted their ability to slow down the progression of the disease.

The two molecules, also with chemotherapeutic action, have the ability to penetrate into the DNA of diseased cells and destroy them, thus slowing their growth and proliferation in the body. The action of treatment, in simple words, prolongs the patient's survival with a good quality of life. "This approach fights cancer in a new way, allowing us to slow down the progression of the disease, already slowed down by other previous therapies", underlined Professor Alberto Sobrero, head of Medical Injology at the San Martino Hospital in Genoa. "The clinical benefit is great, compared to the toxicity of the treatment," added the specialist.


The need for increasingly effective and incisive therapies against colorectal cancer is linked to the numbers and mortality of the disease. Suffice it to say that 53 thousand new cases were registered in Italy in 2017; this means that it is in second place after prostate cancer for men and breast cancer for women. In 2014, colorectal cancer caused 18,671 deaths, with a slight prevalence for men (54 percent). To date, 464,000 Italians are alive after receiving a diagnosis of the disease, and represent 14 percent of all cancer patients in the Bel Paese. Thanks to new therapies, 65 percent of patients undergoing colonoscopy can survive, but for 20 percent of sufferers the disease is discovered when it is already undergoing metastasis. Despite the progress in treatment, the doctors emphasize the importance of prevention, which remains the main bulwark to defend against cancer, as well as a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

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