Session moderators for the CheckMate 142 presentation at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium were John M. Carethers, MD, the John G Searle Professor (and Chair) of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and Joseph J. Y. Sung, MD, PhD, the Mok Hing You Professor of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. In an interview, both said they found the updated analysis of CheckMate-142 to be impressive, but they were not ready to endorse combination nivolumab/ipilimumab for the first-line treatment of patients with microsatellite instability–high metastatic colorectal cancer.

John M. Carethers, MD

Joseph J. Y. Sung, MD, PhD

“It’s a very interesting study, and the data on combination immunotherapy seem powerful, but we’ll have to see if the findings hold up long-term,” Dr. Carethers said.

Dr. Sung added, “There’s still room for a randomized study to prove the superiority of the combination vs single-agent immunotherapy.” Dr. Carethers agreed but questioned whether this study would ever be done. All things considered, Dr. Sung concluded, “I’d stick with single-agent immunotherapy until I see more evidence that the combination substantially improves outcomes enough to make it worth the additional cost.” 

DISCLOSURE: Drs. Carethers and Sung reported no conflicts of interest.