When patients were diagnosed with certain types of tumors or cancers, part of the cure may have been a surgery or a treatment that may have been horrible. An immunotherapy trial performed by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center may offer better cures without the trauma or disfiguring surgeries. Oncologists regularly treat solid tumors in the stomach, esophagus, or rectum with surgeries that may include removal of the stomach, permanent colostomy bags, radiation, or chemotherapy that can cause lasting damage. In medical practice, Immunotherapy is not supposed to replace standard treatments for these conditions. The researchers, led by Dr. Luis A. Diaz Jr. and Dr. Andrea Cercek, decided to give dostarlimab, an immunotherapy drug, on its own. Out of 103 patients in the trial, only 5 had a recurrence of the cancer. The other results included: In 49 of the patients who had rectal cancer, the tumors disappeared and, after five years, have not recurred. Cancers also vanished in 35 of 54 patients who had other cancers, including in the stomach, esophagus, liver, endometrium, urinary tract, and prostate. While the drug is very expensive per dose, the results can be potentially life-changing. Is this a tipping point for better cancer care? Check out the entire article in the New York Times below Medicine Spares Cancer Patients From Grisly Surgeries and Harsh Therapies