Dr. Andre Discusses the Future of Immunotherapy in mCRC

Thierry Andre, MD, professor of medical oncology, University Pierre et Marie Curie (UMPC), and Head of the Medical Oncology Department in St. Antoine Hospital, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, discusses the future of immunotherapy for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

The CheckMate-142 study of nivolumab (Opdivo) with ipilimumab (Yervoy) reported that of 119 patients with DNA mismatch repair-deficient/microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-H) mCRC, the overall response rate was 55% and disease control rate was 80% at 12 weeks. The 9-month progression-free survival was 76%, and the ORR was 87%.

This trial not only established a possible new standard of care for these patients, but indicates that using select patient populations is the future of testing immunotherapy in cancer, says Andre. It is not beneficial to treat all patients, he adds, but the success of combinations might allow for larger populations to benefit from immunotherapy.