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ASCO 2026 | Selecting patients with MSS rectal cancer for immunotherapy strategies
Ali Shamseddine, MD, Basile Cancer Institute at the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, discusses the next steps in investigating the concept of immunotherapy in MSS localized rectal cancer. Approximately one-third of patients with MSS localized rectal cancer have a high Immunoscore, and the aim is to select these patients and randomize them to either total neoadjuvant therapy with short-course radiation and chemotherapy, or chemotherapy plus immunotherapy, followed by rectal preservation for those with a clinically complete response. This interview took place during the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago, IL.
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Transcript
The next step in our mind, and we already developed a protocol to go for further investigating this concept in a randomized trial. So approximately we have high immune score in around one-third of MSS localized rectal cancer patients. So our aim is to screen in the next step study rectal cancer and we select those with high immune score patients and randomize those patients to a total neoadjuvant using short course radiation therapy, followed by chemotherapy only versus chemotherapy plus immunotherapy, followed by rectal preservation in those with clinically complete response rate...
The next step in our mind, and we already developed a protocol to go for further investigating this concept in a randomized trial. So approximately we have high immune score in around one-third of MSS localized rectal cancer patients. So our aim is to screen in the next step study rectal cancer and we select those with high immune score patients and randomize those patients to a total neoadjuvant using short course radiation therapy, followed by chemotherapy only versus chemotherapy plus immunotherapy, followed by rectal preservation in those with clinically complete response rate. So this will test the value of adding immunotherapy in MSS, localized rectal cancer, with high immune score.
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