Researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research report positive early findings from a study suggesting that an immune-based treatment could help some cancer patients avoid surgery. In the study, 92% of participants who received the treatment showed no detectable disease after two years. The approach utilizes checkpoint inhibitors to empower the immune system against tumors, potentially eliminating the need for traditional surgeries. The experience of patient Maureen Sideris highlights the emotional weight of treatment decisions and the hopeful potential of innovative cancer therapies.
According to the results of the early study, 92% of patients who received only an immune-based treatment showed no detectable signs of disease after two years.
For a certain period after the surgery, she wouldn't be able to talk or lie flat at night to sleep. There were a lot of steps to the recovery.
Cercek was testing whether people like Sideris could be treated with a checkpoint inhibitor, which frees the body's immune cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.
They told me it was all experimental—'Are you okay with that?' I said, 'Sign me up,' says Sideris.
Collection
[
|
...
]