Targeting metastatic colorectal cancer with immune oncological therapies

Galbraith, N. J. , Wood, C. and Steele, C. W. (2021) Targeting metastatic colorectal cancer with immune oncological therapies. Cancers, 13(14), 3566. (doi: 10.3390/cancers13143566) (PMID:34298779) (PMCID:PMC8307556)

Abstract

Metastatic colorectal cancer carries poor prognosis, and current therapeutic regimes convey limited improvements in survival and high rates of detrimental side effects in patients that may not stand to benefit. Immunotherapy has revolutionised cancer treatment by restoring antitumoural mechanisms. However, the efficacy in metastatic colorectal cancer, is limited. A literature search was performed using Pubmed (Medline), Web of Knowledge, and Embase. Search terms included combinations of immunotherapy and metastatic colorectal cancer, primarily focusing on clinical trials in humans. Analysis of these studies included status of MMR/MSS, presence of combination strategies, and disease control rate and median overall survival. Evidence shows that immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as anti-PD1 and anti-PD-L1, show efficacy in less than 10% of patients with microsatellite stable, MMR proficient colorectal cancer. In the small subset of patients with microsatellite unstable, MMR deficient cancers, response rates were 40–50%. Combination strategies with immunotherapy are under investigation but have not yet restored antitumoural mechanisms to permit durable disease regression. Immunotherapy provides the potential to offer additional strategies to established chemotherapeutic regimes in metastatic colorectal cancer. Further research needs to establish which adjuncts to immune checkpoint inhibition can unpick resistance, and better predict which patients are likely to respond to individualised therapies to not just improve response rates but to temper unwarranted side effects.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Galbraith, Dr Norman and Steele, Dr Colin and Wood, Dr Colin

Creator Roles

Steele, C. W.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – review and editing, Supervision
Galbraith, N. J.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing, Visualization
Wood, C.: Writing – review and editing

• Authors: Galbraith, N. J., Wood, C., and Steele, C. W.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cancer Sciences; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: Cancers
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2072-6694
• ISSN (Online): 2072-6694
• Published Online: 16 July 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Cancers 13(14): 3566
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License