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Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Dec 15;27(24):6726-6736. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-1650. Epub 2021 Oct 13.

Phase Ib/II Study of Cetuximab plus Pembrolizumab in Patients with Advanced RAS Wild-Type Colorectal Cancer.

Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research

Christos Fountzilas, David L Bajor, Sarbajit Mukherjee, Joel Saltzman, Agnieszka K Witkiewicz, Orla Maguire, Hans Minderman, Ram Nambiar, Hanna R Rosenheck, Erik S Knudsen, Jason B Muhitch, Scott I Abrams, Chong Wang, Alan D Hutson, Kristopher Attwood, Karen A Hicks, Jennifer A Jurcevic, Pawel Kalinski, Renuka Iyer, Patrick M Boland

Affiliations

  1. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York. [email protected].
  2. Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
  3. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York.
  4. Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

PMID: 34645646 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-1650

Abstract

PURPOSE: We evaluated the antitumor efficacy of cetuximab in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with

PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this phase Ib/II study, cetuximab was combined with pembrolizumab in patients with RASwt mCRC with ≥ one prior line of therapy for advanced disease. We analyzed baseline on-treatment tumor tissues for changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME), using flow cytometry and multispectral immunofluorescence.

RESULTS: Forty-four patients were evaluable for efficacy. The study was negative for the primary efficacy endpoint [overall response rate: 2.6%, 6-month progression-free survival (PFS): 31%;

CONCLUSIONS: The combination of cetuximab and pembrolizumab is inactive in patients with RASwt mCRC, despite its partial local immunologic efficacy. Further development of immuno-oncology combinations with enhanced efficacy and/or targeting additional or alternative immune checkpoints merits investigation.

©2021 American Association for Cancer Research.

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