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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1462346
This article is part of the Research Topic Community Series in Immunotherapy and Small Molecule Inhibitors as Combinational Cancer Therapeutics: Volume II View all 9 articles

Identification of Beneficial Populations for Targeted-Immunotherapy Combinations: Tailoring Later-Line Care for Patients with pMMR/MSS Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Provisionally accepted
Dan Li Dan Li Hui Jin Hui Jin Yan Liu Yan Liu Jiayin Liu Jiayin Liu Xue Zhang Xue Zhang Long Wang Long Wang Zhisong Fan Zhisong Fan Li Feng Li Feng Jing Zuo Jing Zuo Jing Han Jing Han Yudong Wang Yudong Wang *
  • The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective This study explores the benefits of targeted-immunotherapy combination in third-line or beyond treatment for microsatellite stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in a real-world setting. Methods Patients with MSS mCRC who were treated with either a targeted-immunotherapy combination or targeted therapy alone in the third-line or beyond setting at our hospital from August 2018 to August 2022 were included in the study. Inclusion criteria comprised patients treated with targeted therapy alone or in combination with immunotherapy. Effectiveness was compared between treatments, and patients with the potential to benefit from targeted-immunotherapy combination were identified. Results Among 71 patients, 31 received targeted therapies alone (TT group) and 40 received a combination of targeted therapy and immunotherapy (TI group). The TI group had higher objective response rates (20% vs 3.2%) and disease control rates (82.5% vs 58.1%). The median progression-free survival was significantly better in the TI group (4.6 vs 4.1 months, P = 0.027). Liver metastasis was associated with poor prognosis, while patients with only lung metastases had the longest median progression-free survival of 12.3 months with combination therapy. Conclusion The study indicates that targeted-immunotherapy combination offers more benefits than targeted therapy alone for MSS mCRC in the third-line or beyond setting.

    Keywords: microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer, third-line or beyond, Real-world, argeted-immunotherapy combination, beneficial population

    Received: 10 Jul 2024; Accepted: 08 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Jin, Liu, Liu, Zhang, Wang, Fan, Feng, Zuo, Han and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yudong Wang, The Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China

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