🚨 MSK’s @AndreaCercek presented full interim results from the AZUR-1 trial at #ESMO26# in Madrid. The trial tested Jemperli (dostarlimab) in people with stage 2 and 3 rectal cancer whose tumors are mismatch repair-deficient (MMRd) or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H). Among patients for whom the approach worked, no cancer has returned during follow-up. The approach, developed at MSK by Dr. Cercek and Dr. Luis Diaz Jr. (@ldiaz1971), allows some patients to avoid treatments that can have life-altering consequences, including infertility and bowel and bladder dysfunction. The @FDA approved the approach in October 2026, calling it "groundbreaking. “It’s incredibly rewarding,” says Dr. Cercek, “to get these happy tears and happy emails from the patients who finish treatment and realize, ‘Oh my God, I get to keep all my normal body functions that I feared I might lose to radiation or surgery.’” Learn more: