Combination Treatment of Intratumoral Vidutolimod, Radiosurgery, Nivolumab, and Ipilimumab for Microsatellite Stable Colorectal Carcinoma With Liver Metastases

• Published in: Clinical colorectal cancer 2023-12, Vol.22 (4), p.442-449.e1
• Main Authors: Margalit, Ofer, Lieberman, Sivan, Redinsky, Ilanit, Halparin, Sharon, Honig, Nir, Raskin, Stephen, Ben-Ayun, Maoz, Shacham-Shmueli, Einat, Halpern, Naama, Urban, Damien, Ackerstein, Aliza, Shulman, Katerina, Ben-Ami, Eytan, Semenisty, Valeriya, Purim, Ofer, Yarom, Nirit, Golan, Talia, Boursi, Ben, Appel, Sarit, Symon, Zvi, Berger, Raanan, Mauro, David, Krieg, Art M., Lawrence, Yaacov R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological - adverse effects; Colonic Neoplasms - drug therapy; Colorectal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Colorectal Neoplasms - therapy; Female; Humans; Immunotherapy; Intratumoral injection; Ipilimumab - adverse effects; Ipilimumab - therapeutic use; Liver Neoplasms - genetics; Liver Neoplasms - therapy; Male; Metastatic colorectal cancer; Microsatellite Repeats; Middle Aged; Nivolumab - adverse effects; Nivolumab - therapeutic use; Radiosurgery - adverse effects; Radiotherapy; Rectal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Toll-like receptor 9 agonist
• ISSN: 1533-0028; 1938-0674
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clcc.2023.08.004

Microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer (MSS mCRC) is largely refractory to immune checkpoint inhibition. We hypothesized that a combination of intratumoral TLR9 agonist, radiosurgery and dual PD-1 and CTLA-4 blockade would induce a local focus of immune stimulation, evoking a systemic immune response. In this phase I single-institution study, patients with MSS mCRC were treated with a priming dose of s.c vidutolimod, 3 intratumoral injections of vidutolimod and radiosurgery, combined with nivolumab and ipilimumab. Cytokine levels were measured at baseline and at 7 (± 2) weeks. Patients were accrued to 4 consecutive cohorts: (1) Safety run-in without radiosurgery, (2) Radiosurgery prior to intratumoral therapy, (3) Radiosurgery prior to intratumoral therapy with a condensed timeline, and (4) Radiosurgery to extrahepatic lesion following completion of intratumoral therapy. A total of 19 patients were accrued. Median age was 59 years (range 40-71), 68% were male, median number of previous systemic treatments was 3 (range 2-5). None of the patients responded, aside from 1 patient, attributed to high tumor mutational burden. Grade 3 liver toxicity was reported in 0%, 0%, 75%, and 17% in cohorts 1 to 4, respectively. Systemic levels of CXCL10 and IL-10 increased, with a median of 407 versus 78 pg/mL (P = .01), and 66 versus 40 pg/mL (P = .03), respectively. The combination of intratumoral vidutolimod, radiosurgery, nivolumab and ipilimumab was not found to be efficacious in MSS mCRC with liver metastases. The juxtaposition of liver irradiation and intratumoral vidutolimod injection was associated with high hepatic toxicity. This manuscript reports the results of a phase I clinical trial combining intratumoral vidutolimod, hypofractionated radiotherapy, nivolumab and ipilimumab in MSS mCRC. Of the 19 patients accrued, none responded, aside from 1 patient, attributed to high tumor mutational burden. The juxtaposition of liver irradiation and intratumoral vidutolimod injection was associated with hepatic toxicity.