Temozolomide, Cisplatin, and Nivolumab for the Treatment of Patients with MMR-Proficient Locally Advanced, Unresectable or Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
This phase II trial studies how well the combination of cisplatin, nivolumab, and temozolomide works in treating patients with colorectal cancer that has spread to nearby tissues or lymph nodes and cannot be removed by surgery (locally advanced, unresectable) or has spread to other places in the body (metastatic) that is mismatch repair (MMR)-proficient. Cisplatin and temozolomide are both cytotoxic chemotherapies that work mostly by causing damage to the DNA in tumor cells, which can cause those cells to stop growing and die. Combining the two chemotherapy drugs may also cause changes (mutations) in the tumor's DNA, which triggers an immune response against the cancer and the new mutations caused by the drugs. Nivolumab is an antibody, like the proteins made by the immune system to protect the body from harm. Nivolumab blocks the protein PD-1 (programmed cell death receptor-1) that usually acts as a “brake” on the immune system. Blocking this protein is like releasing the brakes, so that the immune system can target tumor cells and destroy them. Giving cisplatin, nivolumab, and temozolomide together may work better to shrink or stabilize the cancer better than each drug alone in patients with colorectal cancer.