Volume 153, Issue 4 pp. 709-722
REVIEW

How to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors in colorectal cancer: From mechanisms to translation

Qianyu Wang

Qianyu Wang

Medical Department of General Surgery, The 1st Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China

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Xiaofei Shen

Xiaofei Shen

Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China

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Gang Chen

Corresponding Author

Gang Chen

Medical Department of General Surgery, The 1st Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

Department of General Surgery, The 7th Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

Correspondence

Junfeng Du and Gang Chen, Department of General Surgery, The 7th Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 5, Nanmen Cang, Beijing 100700, China.

Email: [email protected] (J. D.) and [email protected] (G. C.)

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Junfeng Du

Corresponding Author

Junfeng Du

Medical Department of General Surgery, The 1st Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

Department of General Surgery, The 7th Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China

The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China

Correspondence

Junfeng Du and Gang Chen, Department of General Surgery, The 7th Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 5, Nanmen Cang, Beijing 100700, China.

Email: [email protected] (J. D.) and [email protected] (G. C.)

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First published: 08 February 2023
Citations: 3

Qianyu Wang and Xiaofei Shen contributed equally to this study.

Abstract

Immunotherapy, especially with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), has shown advantages in cancer treatment and is a new hope for patients who have failed multiline therapy. However, in colorectal cancer (CRC), the benefit is limited to a small subset of patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) metastatic CRC (mCRC). In addition, 45% to 60% of dMMR/MSI-H mCRC patients showed primary or acquired resistance to ICIs. This means that these patients may have potential unknown pathways mediating immune escape. Almost all mismatch repair-proficient (pMMR) or microsatellite-stable (MSS) mCRC patients do not benefit from ICIs. In this review, we discuss the mechanisms of action of ICIs and their current status in CRC. We then discuss the mechanisms of primary and acquired resistance to ICIs in CRC. Finally, we discuss promising therapeutic strategies to overcome resistance to ICIs in the clinic.

Graphical Abstract

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare that the research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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