ASCO GI 2022 | Investigating ezabenlimab in combination with a VEGF/Ang2-blocking nanobody for advanced CRC

Susanna Varkey Ulahannan, MD, The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK, outlines the results of a platform trial investigating the safety and efficacy of the anti-PD1, ezabenlimab, plus a VEGF/ANG2-blocking nanobody in patients with advanced microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer (CRC). This platform study is exploring the immunotherapy and angiogenesis-targeting combination in several types of advance solid cancers, however the CRC cohort was the first to complete recruitment. The primary endpoint is investigator-assessed overall survival (OS) and secondary endpoints include duration of response (DOR), disease control, and progression-free survival (PFS). 30 patients with advanced CRC were recruited to this study. All patients had received prior chemotherapy and 23 of the patients had previously been treated with bevacizumab. Out of the 7 who had not received bevacizumab, 2 had a partial response (PR), 1 of whom is still responding. 15 of the 30 patients had stable disease with a median of 126 days. Overall, 17 patients demonstrated a benefit to this treatment. Furthermore, treatment was well tolerated, in terms of toxicities and quality of life (QoL). Although there has been an overall recent decrease in the number of incidences in MSS CRC, there has been an increase in rates of cases in subjects under 50. After two lines of therapy there are limited treatment options. An important rationale behind this trial is to fulfil this unmet and attempt to uncover a durable treatment for this patient population. This interview took place at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium 2022.