A study of using epigenetic modulators to enhance response to pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in microsatellite stable advanced colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Approximately 95% of advanced colorectal cancer patients (CRC) have mismatch repair MMR-proficient (MMRp) tumors, which do not respond to PD1 blockade alone. Preclinical studies have shown that combined histone deacetylases (HDAC) and/or DNA methyltransferases (DNMT) inhibition can induce susceptibility to immune checkpoint therapy and inhibit tumor growth. We conducted a pilot trial evaluating PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in combination with DNMT and HDAC inhibitors in MMRp CRC. The study was designed with a biological endpoint of change in immune cell infiltration, to determine the optimal epigenetic combination that optimizes the tumor microenvironment. This trial was designed to test that hypothesis. RESULTS: From January 2016 to November 2018, 27 patients were enrolled with median age of 57 (range 40–69) years. Median progression-free survival and overall survival were 2.79 months and 9.17, respectively. One patient in Arm C achieved a durable partial response by RECIST criteria, lasting for approximately 19 months. The most common treatment-related hematological adverse events in all arms were anemia (62%), lymphopenia (54%) and thrombocytopenia (35%), and non-hematological AEs were anorexia (65%), nausea (77%), and vomiting (73%). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of 5-azacitidine and romidepsin with pembrolizumab was safe and tolerable in patients with advanced MMRp CRC, but with a minimal activity. Further mechanistic investigations are needed to understand epigenetic-induced immunologic shift and to expand the potential applicability of checkpoint inhibitors in this setting. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13148-023-01485-x.