Immunotherapy and Colorectal cancer: Where We are and What’s ahead

Resource from here

Immunotherapy uses immune checkpoint inhibitors, allow immune cells like T cells to target and attack cancerous cells
- Pembrolizumab + nivolumab
Microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancer (MSI cancer)
- Subtype of colorectal cancer
- “deficient mismatch repair” (dMMR)
- Many genetic mutations
- More likely to be detected by immune system than other cancer cell subtypes
3% are MSI/dMMR, most patients do not have this subtype
- Require novel ways to overcome lack of immune response

Potential outcomes/legacy
- Molecular subtype classification for more targeted, effective therapies
- Tumor microenvironment -> critical
- Other ways to trigger response in immune system -> oncolytic viruses, vaccines, cellular therapies (CAR T cell + CAR NK cell?)
Significance
- Translational research & new avenues of therapies
- Potential policy or ethical challenges?
  - Ex: genetic manipulations and testing, further funding for vaccines approach, conflicts of interest between different drug manufacturers
- Is immunotherapy less ‘harsh’?

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