In hard-to-treat bowel cancer, a targeted drug pairing is adding months where the standard added none

Bowel cancer that has already been treated once is stubborn: the standard tablet combination shrinks almost nobody's tumour. In updated early results presented at the ESMO congress, the antibody-drug conjugate Temab-A — a guided-missile drug that carries chemotherapy directly to cancer cells — paired with bevacizumab shrank tumours in 30% of patients at the chosen dose, against 0% on the standard pairing. Median survival was 14.7 months versus 10.2. It is a small, early study, and a large global Phase 3 trial is now under way to confirm the benefit — but for a group with few options, a 30% response where there was none is a genuine opening.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation