Swim Across America reports approval for adults with stage II–III rectal cancer and specific tumor traits, offering eligible patients a possible way to avoid chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
The US Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to GSK’s Jemperli, also called dostarlimab, on October 19, 2026, according to Swim Across America. The cancer-research charity reported the decision in an October 22 statement published by SwimSwam. The approval gives a defined group of adults with rectal cancer an immunotherapy option that may allow them to avoid chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
Standard treatment has often involved those three approaches, the charity says. They can cause lasting complications affecting bowel, bladder and sexual function, as well as fertility. Avoiding them is the practical possibility described by the approval account, not a guaranteed outcome for every eligible patient.
The charity says the approval covers adults with stage II or III locally advanced rectal cancer whose tumors are microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR). These terms identify particular genetic characteristics of the tumor; the approval does not cover all rectal cancers.
Those characteristics can make tumors particularly responsive to certain immunotherapies, the statement explains. Immunotherapy helps the body’s immune system recognize and attack cancer cells.
The approval rested primarily on AZUR-1, an international trial involving 154 patients with previously untreated stage II or III MSI-H/dMMR locally advanced rectal cancer, according to the charity. Citing the FDA, it says 110 patients, or 71%, received dostarlimab alone without additional cancer treatment or disease progression during the study assessment period.
That result measures treatment and cancer progression over a defined assessment period. It is not a cure rate. It also differs from the earlier, separate 12-patient trial described in the statement: all 12 had a complete clinical response, meaning no detectable evidence of cancer after treatment. None received chemotherapy, radiation or surgery during the initial follow-up.
Swim Across America says it funded early research and subsequent clinical trials at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. GSK supplied the medicine used in the trials. The charity’s announcement did not give adverse-event rates or describe the severity of treatment side effects.
The approval is accelerated, and long-term benefit remains to be established. Continued clinical follow-up and confirmatory research will help establish those benefits, the charity says.
The NIH–NASA competition seeks better measurements in laboratory drug-safety models, with submissions scheduled to open on 15 December 2026.
2 min
The programme brings together national laboratories, universities and industry partners, with plans for a sensor-equipped test bed and self-adjusting pilot production lines.
2 min
Previously seen only through its infrared heat, the dusty feature is visible in reflected starlight, allowing researchers to test a possible collision origin.
4 min
