Clinical trial · Interventional
ctDNA-Guided Immunotherapy for dMMR/MSI-H Colon Cancer
A Single-Arm Phase II Study of Circulating Tumor DNA-Guided Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy for dMMR/MSI-H Colon Cancer
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 26, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260926-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
This prospective, multicenter, single-arm phase II interventional study evaluates whether longitudinal circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) monitoring can guide neoadjuvant immunotherapy and surgical decision-making in dMMR/MSI-H colon cancer. Participants with ctDNA clearance proceed to curative surgery, whereas those with persistent ctDNA positivity escalate to combined PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibitor therapy.
Conditions
Conditions (3)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colon Cancer | Malignant Colon Neoplasm | CURATED_EXACT | 0.92 |
| Deficient Mismatch Repair | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Microsatellite Instability-High (MSI-H) | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (4)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| ctDNA/MRD testing | Diagnostic Test | — | UNRESOLVED |
| CTLA-4 inhibitor | Drug | CTLA-4 Inhibitor | ALIAS |
| Curative Surgery | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| PD-1 inhibitor | Drug | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- ctDNA-Guided Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy |
- description
- Participants receive PD-1 inhibitor monotherapy. ctDNA testing after 3-4 cycles determines whether they proceed to curative surgery or escalate to PD-1 plus CTLA-4 inhibitor therapy; all participants subsequently undergo curative surgery.
- interventionNames
- Drug: PD-1 inhibitor
- Drug: CTLA-4 inhibitor
- Diagnostic Test: ctDNA/MRD testing
- Procedure: Curative Surgery
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Pathological Complete Response Rate
- timeFrame
- At curative surgery, following completion of neoadjuvant therapy
- description
- Pathological assessment of the surgical resection specimen; pCR is defined as no residual viable cancer cells after treatment (ypT0N0M0).
Secondary outcomes (9)
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 75 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Written informed consent obtained before any study-related procedures. * Age 18 to 75 years, inclusive. * Histologically confirmed colon adenocarcinoma, mucinous adenocarcinoma, or signet-ring cell carcinoma, with the tumor located at least 15 cm from the anal verge. * dMMR/MSI-H status confirmed by immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction, or next-generation sequencing. * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 or 1 and an expected survival of at least 3 months. * Adequate hematologic, hepatic, renal, coagulation, thyroid, and cardiac function, as defined in the protocol. * Negative pregnancy test for women of childbearing potential; agreement to use highly effective contraception, when applicable. Exclusion Criteria: * Prior treatment with a PD-1 inhibitor, CTLA-4 inhibitor, or other immunotherapy. * Symptomatic or high-risk bowel obstruction, bleeding, perforation, pneumonitis, or other conditions that may compromise safe study participation. * Another malignancy diagnosed within 5 years before the first study treatment, except for specified definitively treated low-risk malignancies. * Current participation in another interventional clinical study, or receipt of another investigational drug or investigational device within 4 weeks before the first study treatment. * Active autoimmune disease requiring systemic treatment within 2 years before the first study treatment, or recent systemic corticosteroid or other immunosuppressive therapy. * Uncontrolled pleural effusion or ascites, prior allogeneic organ transplantation (except corneal transplantation), or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. * Known hypersensitivity to any study drug component. * Toxicities or complications from prior treatment not recovered to Grade 1 or baseline, except for specified conditions. * HIV infection, untreated active hepatitis B infection, or active hepatitis C infection. * Receipt of a live vaccine within 30 days before the first study treatment. * Pregnancy or breastfeeding. * Any serious or uncontrolled systemic disease, active infection, clinically significant laboratory abnormality, or other condition that may interfere with study participation or place the participant at unacceptable risk, as judged by the investigator.
References
Publications (24)
- BACKGROUNDAndre T, Elez E, Lenz HJ, Jensen LH, Touchefeu Y, Van Cutsem E, Garcia-Carbonero R, Tougeron D, Mendez GA, Schenker M, de la Fouchardiere C, Limon ML, Yoshino T, Li J, Manzano Mozo JL, Dahan L, Tortora G, Chalabi M, Goekkurt E, Braghiroli MI, Joshi R, Cil T, Aubin F, Cela E, Chen T, Lei M, Jin L, Blum SI, Lonardi S. Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus nivolumab in microsatellite instability-high metastatic colorectal cancer (CheckMate 8HW): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2025 Feb 1;405(10476):383-395. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)02848-4. Epub 2025 Jan 25. PMID 39874977
- BACKGROUNDWei SC, Duffy CR, Allison JP. Fundamental Mechanisms of Immune Checkpoint Blockade Therapy. Cancer Discov. 2018 Sep;8(9):1069-1086. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-18-0367. Epub 2018 Aug 16. PMID 30115704
- BACKGROUNDKotani D, Oki E, Nakamura Y, Yukami H, Mishima S, Bando H, Shirasu H, Yamazaki K, Watanabe J, Kotaka M, Hirata K, Akazawa N, Kataoka K, Sharma S, Aushev VN, Aleshin A, Misumi T, Taniguchi H, Takemasa I, Kato T, Mori M, Yoshino T. Molecular residual disease and efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer. Nat Med. 2023 Jan;29(1):127-134. doi: 10.1038/s41591-022-02115-4. Epub 2023 Jan 16. PMID 36646802
- BACKGROUNDCercek A, Foote MB, Rousseau B, Smith JJ, Shia J, Sinopoli J, Weiss J, Lumish M, Temple L, Patel M, Wilde C, Saltz LB, Argiles G, Stadler Z, Artz O, Maron S, Ku G, Gu P, Janjigian YY, Molena D, Iyer G, Coleman J, Abida W, Cohen S, Soares K, Schattner M, Strong VE, Yaeger R, Paty P, Shcherba M, Sugarman R, Romesser PB, Zervoudakis A, Desai A, Segal NH, El Dika I, Widmar M, Wei I, Pappou E, Fumo G, Aparo S, Gonen M, Gollub M, Jayaprakasam VS, Kim TH, Garcia Aguilar J, Weiser M, Diaz LA Jr. Nonoperative Management of Mismatch Repair-Deficient Tumors. N Engl J Med. 2025 Jun 19;392(23):2297-2308. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2404512. Epub 2025 Apr 27. PMID 40293177
- BACKGROUNDGogenur I, Justesen TF, Tarpgaard LS, Bulut M, Hansen TF, Jensen LH, Rahr HB, Kirkegaard T, Balsevicius L, Raskov H, Petersen PC, Eriksen JR, Salomon S, Fiehn AK, Brandsborg S, Gotschalck KA, Emmertsen KJ, Born PW, Thorlacius-Ussing O, Lauritzen MB, Olesen RK, Poulsen LO, Lykke J, Schou J, Buskov L, Krarup PM, Andersen CL, Pfeiffer P, Qvortrup C. Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab in Stages I-III Deficient Mismatch Repair Colon Cancer: A Clinical Trial. Ann Surg. 2026 Jun 1;283(6):1075-1081. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000006611. Epub 2024 Dec 18.