Thierry Andre, MD, professor of medical oncology at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UMPC) and Head of the Medical Oncology Department in St. Antoine Hospital, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux in Paris, discusses the introduction of immunotherapy to the treatment landscape of metastatic colorectal cancer.
Thierry Andre, MD, professor of medical oncology at the University Pierre et Marie Curie (UMPC) and Head of the Medical Oncology Department in St. Antoine Hospital, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux in Paris, discusses the introduction of immunotherapy to the treatment landscape of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
In CheckMate-142, an immunotherapy combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) was tested in a small subset of patients with mCRC. According to Andre, the study looked at patients with
microsatellite instability-highmCRC with a primary objective of overall response. There was a 55% response rate in this patient population, with the combination demonstrating a low toxicity profile that was only slightly higher than what is found with monotherapy. Also, toxicity-related discontinuation occurred in just a small number of patients, around 15%.
Andre notes this trial was not randomized and the combination was only tested in a small population of patients. This particular subset of patients only makes up about 4% of the CRC population. However, Andre says this is only the beginning of immunotherapy in this setting.