STAND UP TO CANCER DREAM TEAM'S IMMUNOTHERAPY CLINICAL TRIAL SHOWS UNPRECEDENTED RESULTS IN MULTIPLE CANCER TYPES

New England Journal of Medicine Study Led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Demonstrates That Immunotherapy May Replace Surgery for Certain Solid Tumors

, /PRNewswire/ -- A clinical trial funded by Stand Up To Cancer^® (SU2C) and led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) researchers has revealed that immunotherapy may eliminate the need for standard treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation in patients with certain types of solid tumors.

Published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and presented simultaneously at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, the results demonstrate that 80% of trial participants did not require standard treatments after six months of treatment with immunotherapy alone. The trial included people with non-rectal mismatch repair-deficient (MMRd) cancers, including gastroesophageal, hepatobiliary, colon, genitourinary, and gynecologic; these cancers have a genetic defect that makes them harder to repair but also more likely to respond to immunotherapy. This trial is the first time that immunotherapy, which can help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells, has been shown to replace surgery for a variety of solid tumors.

"This study represents a significant shift in treatment for a number of solid tumor cancers," said Julian Adams, Ph.D., president and CEO of Stand Up To Cancer. "Eliminating invasive surgeries that often carry significant risks and lifelong challenges not only saves lives—it sustains the quality of those lives. Stand Up To Cancer is proud to support research that delivers real hope to people impacted by cancer."

The trial is led by Luis Diaz Jr., M.D. and Andrea Cercek, M.D.; both are gastrointestinal oncologists at MSK. Diaz is the leader of the SU2C Colorectal Cancer Dream Team and Cercek is a team member.

The clinical trial expands on a MSK study, partially funded by SU2C, which utilized an immunotherapy drug and showed that rectal cancer tumors completely disappeared for every trial participant – without the need for standard treatments.

From 2017 to 2024, Stand Up To Cancer supported the SU2C Colorectal Cancer Dream Team in creating new strategies to detect and treat colorectal cancer earlier, using insights from genetics, biology, and the immune system – as well as funding more than 10 clinical trials led by the Dream Team. The team's research has focused on unlocking the immune system to fight colorectal cancer, developing targeted therapies for key genetic mutations, and advancing precision prevention strategies to stop cancer before it starts. With SU2C support, the team previously led a pivotal clinical trial that contributed to the first FDA approval of immunotherapy as a front-line treatment for certain metastatic colorectal cancers—helping patients avoid chemotherapy. They later made headlines with their rectal cancer trial—now expanded in the new NEJM study.

"Utilizing immunotherapy alone could change how we treat some cancers, helping patients avoid significant side effects and other challenges associated with current surgical approaches, radiation and chemotherapy treatments," said Diaz. "Without Stand Up To Cancer, this research and these results would not have been possible. It's incredibly exciting to think we may be on the verge of a new standard of care for MMRd cancers—one that is less invasive, less toxic, and just as effective."

One Survivor's Success Story
Maureen Sideris, 71, was diagnosed with gastroesophageal junction cancer in 2022. "My husband Tom and I were preparing for the worst," she recalls. But after joining the trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering and being treated with immunotherapy alone—without surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation—she says, "I felt like I won the lottery!"

The experience not only saved Maureen's life—it preserved her quality of life. "I was afraid that if I got surgery on my esophagus, I wouldn't be able to talk for a while, which would be awful. To have immunotherapy alone was just amazing."

Maureen is also a colorectal cancer survivor, which she was diagnosed with in 2008. She remembers becoming familiar with SU2C around that time and has supported SU2C's mission as a donor for many years. "It can't be a more noble cause," she says. "So many people are benefitting from cancer research thanks to funding from Stand Up To Cancer and other organizations like it; we couldn't donate our money to a better cause because it's something that is going to help everyone impacted by cancer, now and in the future." 

About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer^® (SU2C) raises awareness and funds research to detect and treat cancers with the aspiration to cure all patients. SU2C is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and was initially launched as a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Established in 2008 by media and entertainment leaders, SU2C utilizes these communities' resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, to increase awareness about cancer prevention, and to highlight progress being made in the fight against the disease. As of April 2024, more than 3,100 scientists representing more than 210 institutions are involved in SU2C-funded research projects.

As SU2C's scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee, led by William G. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., conduct rigorous competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.

Current members of the SU2C Founders and Advisors Committee (FAC) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Kathleen Lobb, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, and Ellen Ziffren. The late Laura Ziskin and the late Noreen Fraser are also co-founders. Julian Adams, Ph.D., serves as SU2C's president and CEO.

For more information visit StandUpToCancer.org, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

SOURCE Stand Up To Cancer