A NEW BREAKTHROUGH AGAINST CANCER

A NEW BREAKTHROUGH AGAINST CANCER

Every so often, science hands us a miracle — not the kind wrapped in mystery, but the kind wrapped in data, clinical trials, and undeniable results. Such is the case with Dostarlimab, an experimental cancer drug that has stunned the global medical community. In clinical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, 80% of patients with a specific type of rectal cancer were completely cured. No chemotherapy. No radiation. No surgery. No tumor left in follow-up scans.

Let me repeat that: cured.

So the questions practically jump out:
 When can we bring this technology here?
 How long should we wait before we start saving Filipino lives?
 And more painfully — how many of our kababayans will die while we delay its adoption?

A Treatment That Lets the Body Do the Fighting

Dostarlimab is not the typical “nuclear option” we associate with cancer therapy. It is immunotherapy — a smarter, targeted approach. It works by blocking the PD-1 protein, the shield cancer cells use to hide from the immune system. Remove the shield, and our immune system does what it has been doing for millennia: hunt and destroy foreign invaders.

This particular trial involved patients with mismatch repair-deficient (MMR-D) cancer, a genetic defect that affects DNA repair. For them, the results were unprecedented. For the rest of us, the implications are enormous.

This may be the beginning of a new medical era.

Why Aren’t We Talking About This in the Philippines?

Here is the uncomfortable truth: breakthroughs abroad often take years — sometimes decades — before they reach our patients. Meanwhile, cancer becomes one of our leading causes of death. According to the WHO, we lose more than 90,000 Filipinos to cancer every year. How many of these could have been saved if we moved faster?

Who should lead?
 The Department of Health, of course. But should they act alone? Absolutely not.

We need a national cancer technology task force, involving:

  • DOH – regulatory approval and national cancer strategy

  • DOST – scientific evaluation and clinical collaboration

  • DFA – negotiating international access, licensing, partnerships

  • FDA Philippines – fast-track review process

  • Philippine Cancer Center, PGH, private cancer hospitals – local trials and implementation

  • Pharmaceutical industry – possibly licensing, importation, and manufacturing

Should Congress Fund This?

Maybe. But honestly, we do not need to wait.

The DOH and DOST already have research and procurement budgets that could be realigned for priority projects. We do not need a new law just to begin exploratory talks or initiate clinical trials. What we need is urgency.

If funding becomes necessary later, then Congress can step in. But let us not use “funding” as an excuse for inaction.

Technology Transfer — Who Takes the Lead?

Should foreign pharmaceutical companies be approached? Yes. Could one of our local companies take the initiative to license the technology? Also yes.

But someone must knock on doors. Someone must take the first meeting. Someone must push for the partnership.

The question is: who?

DFA can handle international negotiations.
 DOST can handle scientific collaboration.
 Pharma companies can handle distribution.

But only DOH can declare this as a national priority — and that is where leadership must begin.

A Call to Action

If this treatment gives even a fraction of our cancer patients a fighting chance, then every day of delay becomes morally unacceptable.

I propose three immediate steps:

  1. Create a DOH-DOST-DFA joint task force to negotiate access and explore technology transfer.

  2. Fast-track FDA review pathways for breakthrough cancer therapies.

  3. Begin pilot clinical trials in the Philippines through PGH, Philippine Cancer Center, or major private hospitals.

Science has opened a door.
 The only question now is whether we will walk through it — or watch more Filipinos die waiting.

A breakthrough like this is not simply news.
 It is an opportunity.
 It is a responsibility.
 And for many families, it could be the difference between life and loss.

The clock is ticking.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.com senseneres.blogspot.com 09-19-2026

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