Story perspectives

Pembrolizumab Pre-Op Yields Zero Recurrences in Bowel Cancer

4/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

The NEOPRISM-CRC trial gave 32 UK patients pre-operative pembrolizumab and reported zero cancer recurrences after 33 months.
The pembrolizumab regimen replaced the standard post-surgery chemotherapy for stage II or III MMR-deficient/MSI-high bowel cancer.
Personalized blood tests that tracked disappearing tumor DNA matched the long-term disease-free results.
Christopher Burston, 73, received three pembrolizumab doses, underwent surgery in May 2023, and remains cancer-free three years later.

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Story summary

The NEOPRISM-CRC trial gave 32 UK patients pre-operative pembrolizumab and reported zero cancer recurrences after 33 months.
The pembrolizumab regimen replaced the standard post-surgery chemotherapy for stage II or III MMR-deficient/MSI-high bowel cancer.
Personalized blood tests that tracked disappearing tumor DNA matched the long-term disease-free results.
Christopher Burston, 73, received three pembrolizumab doses, underwent surgery in May 2023, and remains cancer-free three years later.