Major breakthrough in pre-operative "immunotherapy" for colorectal cancer! 32 people were followed for 33 months and all showed no recurrence.

Three-dimensional model of the structure of the large intestine, showing the internal structure of the colon, rectum and intestines. A British clinical trial tracked 32 patients with stage 2 or 3 colorectal cancer with specific genetic characteristics and found that after the patients received immunotherapy before surgery, there was no recurrence of cancer after 33 months of follow-up.

There are noteworthy research results on colorectal cancer treatment! In one clinical trial, 32 patients with stage 2 or 3 colorectal cancer received immunotherapy before surgery. After 33 months of follow-up, none had a recurrence of their cancer. However, these patients all have specific genetic characteristics, and the research results cannot be directly applied to all colorectal cancer patients.

According to the science website "Science Daily", this clinical trial called NEOPRISM-CRC was conducted by the research team of University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospital (UCLH). The research results were published at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting. Researchers continued to track patients to observe whether the cancer recurred after treatment.

The tumors of these 32 patients had specific genetic characteristics, namely "deficient mismatch repair" (dMMR) or "microsatellite instability high" (MSI-H). Simply put, the DNA repair machinery of these tumors is abnormal. Such genetic signatures are associated with treatment response to immunotherapy and are therefore important for patient selection for studies.

Immunotherapy before surgery

Patients in the trial received immunotherapy, using the drug pembrolizumab, for up to nine weeks before surgery. These drugs help the immune system recognize and attack cancer cells. After completing preoperative treatment, the patient still underwent surgery, and the research team tracked the follow-up condition.

The results of the study showed that after 33 months of follow-up, none of the 32 patients had cancer recurrence. This result allows researchers to further observe whether preoperative immunotherapy can bring sustained therapeutic effects to this type of colorectal cancer patients with specific genetic characteristics.

The research team also tested tumor DNA in the patients' blood to see whether the genetic material left by the cancer cells could still be detected after treatment. This type of testing has the opportunity to help researchers understand treatment response, but whether it can be used to determine whether patients need further treatment still requires more research to confirm.

However, the most important limitation of this study is that only 32 patients participated, and all of them had specific genetic characteristics. Even if no one relapses during the follow-up period, it cannot be concluded that it is suitable for all colorectal cancer patients or that it has achieved a cure effect. Subsequent large-scale trials are still needed to confirm its efficacy and safety.