PD-1 Blockade in Mismatch Repair–Deficient, Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

🤖 Plain-English Summary

BACKGROUND: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiation followed by surgical resection of the rectum is a standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer. Longer follow-up is needed to assess the duration of response.

🔑 Key Findings

• A subset of rectal cancer is caused by a deficiency in mismatch repair.
• Because mismatch repair-deficient colorectal cancer is responsive to programmed death 1 (PD-1) blockade in the context of metastatic disease, it was hypothesized that checkpoint blockade could be effective in patients with mismatch repair-deficient, locally advanced rectal cancer.
• METHODS: We initiated a prospective phase 2 study in which single-agent dostarlimab, an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, was administered every 3 weeks for 6 months in patients with mismatch repair-deficient stage II or III rectal adenocarcinoma.

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