Alternative cancer treatment could replace chemo and surgery, study suggests

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New cancer research pioneered by Memorial Sloan Kettering points to a strong alternative to chemotherapy, surgery and radiation for some forms of cancer.

Nearly 80% of patients who suffered from a variety of cancer types were successfully treated with only immunotherapy, according to a new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The immunotherapy protocol successfully treated 100% of rectal cancer patients involved in the trial.

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"My husband, Tommy, and I were preparing for the worst," recalled Maureen Sideris, who was diagnosed with gastroesophageal junction cancer in 2022 and subsequently became a participant in the trial.

"After being treated with only immunotherapy, I had no evidence of cancer and didn't have to undergo surgery, chemo or radiation," she said in an MSK press release. "I felt like I won the lottery!"

Dr. Andrea Cercek, a gastrointestinal oncologist, oversaw the research along with fellow gastrointestinal oncologist Dr. Luiz Diaz. 

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The pair sought to develop this approach in part due to the negative impacts of traditional treatment, according to the release.

"Using the standard-of-care treatment of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy to treat rectal cancer is effective," Cercek said.

"But the treatments can leave people infertile and severely affect bowel, urinary and sexual functions, as well as other aspects of daily life."

Participants in the trial were all patients with tumors ranging from stage 1 to stage 3, meaning the tumors had not yet spread, the release indicated.

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The tumors also had a genetic mutation called mismatch repair-deficient (MMRd), which makes them particularly vulnerable to a type of immunotherapy called "checkpoint inhibitors."

This therapy "unmasks" tumor cells, MSK stated, making it easier for the patient's own immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.

The first clinical trial testing the therapy started with only 18 patients, all of whom had rectal cancer.

"We knew there was a broad range of cancer types that had this same MMRd genetic mutation," Cercek said. "We hoped this approach could help people facing these other cancers, too."

In the expanded trial, which contained 103 patients, there were 49 rectal cancer patients and 54 patients with other types of cancer. Participants received checkpoint inhibitor infusions intravenously over the course of six months, per the release.

In all 49 rectal cancer patients, there was no evidence of cancer after immunotherapy.

Of the 54 patients with other cancers, 35 saw all signs of cancer disappear after therapy, according to a variety of tests performed for the study.

"This is a very significant response, and the results were even better than we had hoped," said Cercek. "We found that some cancer types responded extremely well to the immunotherapy, including colon and stomach cancer."

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In the 20% of non-rectal cancer patients who still needed surgery post-therapy, researchers saw that the immunotherapy often shrunk the tumor and even lowered the stage classifications of some of the tumors, according to Cercek.

Timothy Yap, Ph.D., a medical oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, agrees that the immunotherapy treatment's effectiveness for multiple kinds of cancer is "exciting."

"We are always seeking to improve treatment strategies for cancer patients through innovative clinical trials, and this is no exception," Yap, who was not involved in the study, told Fox Digital.

"Responding patients may avoid the need for surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and benefit by improving their quality of life," he said.

Based on the results of the original trial with rectal patients, the immunotherapy-only approach has been incorporated into the treatment guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, which is the doctor's group that sets cancer treatments in the U.S., the release stated.

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Some of the original participants of the 2022 trial are still cancer-free today, multiple years after the initial treatment.