Dr. Lenz on the Updated Findings From the CheckMate-142 Trial in mCRC

Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, FACP, professor of medicine, J. Terrance Lanni Chair in Gastrointestinal Cancer Research, and co-director, University of Southern California (USC) Center for Molecular Pathway and Drug Discovery, at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the updated findings from the phase 2 CheckMate-142 trial in previously untreated patients with microsatellite instability—high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Immunotherapy can lead to high responses in patients with MSI-H/dMMR mCRC, but the durability of these responses has not been well described. The 2-year follow-up results from the CheckMate-142 trial showed that these patients can achieve robust and durable responses with the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and low-dose ipilimumab (Yervoy) in the frontline setting.

Notably, the objective response rate increased from 60% to 69%, and the complete response rate increased from 7% to 13%. These responses compare very favorably to historical rates in the newly diagnosed setting, concludes Lenz.