Swim Across America Helped Fund That Trial With 100% Cancer Remission

LONG ISLAND SOUND, NY — One of the most unique fundraisers in the region is also proving to be among the most quietly effective.

Earlier this month, the New England Journal of Medicine published a ground-breaking study involving 12 patients who completed a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer and showed a 100 percent clinical complete response to dostarlimab, a GlaxoSmithKline immunotherapy treatment.

The trial was conducted at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) with early-stage grant funding from Swim Across America.

"I believe this (a 100 percent response) is the first time this has happened in the history of cancer," commented Dr. Luis Diaz in a statement announcing the findings.

Diaz is co-author of the paper along with Dr. Andrea Cercek. Both are oncologists at the MSK Cancer Center, which Swim Across America, including the Long Island Sound chapter, supports annually.

Running a clinical trial can easily cost millions of dollars. Early-stage sponsors such as Swim Across America are necessary to fund the costs, according to the organization. Swim Across America's grant for the MSK clinical trial helped directly fund the science and speed the sharing of information.

Swim Across America's grant agreements with beneficiaries such as MSK require that 100 percent of the grants be spent on approved research and clinical trial programs. Over 35 years, Swim Across America has made a point to grant nearly $100 million specifically to innovative and otherwise unfunded ideas so that scientists such as Dr. Cercek and Dr. Diaz can develop new treatments.

Swim Across America has previously funded early-stage clinical development of FDA-approved immunotherapy treatments, including ipilimumab (YERVOY), nivolumab (OPDIVO), pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA) and atezolizumab (TECENTRIQ).

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About Swim Across America

Swim Across America, Inc. was founded in 1987 and has raised over $100 million for cancer research and prevention programs at the country's finest hospitals and managed-care facilities. Since Swim Across America's inception, it has grown from having a single event in Nantucket, MA, to 22 open water benefit swims across the country.

The Long Island Sound chapter was started in 1992 and has grown to be the largest in the organization, having raised over $21 million since its inception.

For more information about Swim Across America Long Island Chapter, please call 914-769-8411 or visit www.swimacrossamerica.org/long_island.