Advances in immunotherapy for MMR proficient colorectal cancer

Highlights•New immunotherapy combinations are emerging for MMRp mCRCs.•Targeting PD1 and additional checkpoints or VEGFR is promising.•PD-L1 expression and absence of liver metastases are strong biomarkers.•Translational analyses will be critical to inform further rational development.AbstractSurvival in mismatch-repair proficient (MMRp) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) remains poor and chemotherapy is the mainstay of treatment. Immunotherapy has demonstrated durable responses and a favourable side-effect profile in various cancer types and multiple clinical trials have been conducted in MMRp mCRC. In this review we summarise emerging trial data which demonstrate promising immunotherapy combinations in MMRp mCRC. We outline barriers to success, evaluate emerging biomarkers and discuss potential strategies to increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy in MMRp mCRC.