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In a patient with dMMR rectal adenocarcinoma, does the use of palliative RT for bleeding (5 Gy x 5) preclude the use of immunotherapy?

In such a case, should the whole pelvis be treated as in traditional TNT, or just the bleeding tumor, and does the use of RT potentially enhance the immunotherapy response through antigen release?
2 Answers
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Medical Oncology · Mary Lanning Healthcare Morrison Cancer Center/University of Nebraska Medical Center Adjunct Faculty
Answered on

In dMMR rectal adenocarcinoma, short-course palliative pelvic radiotherapy is the faster, more reliable tool for controlling tumor bleeding than checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy due to a direct hemostatic effect with bleeding-control rates of roughly 81–100% over days to a few weeks. Immunotherapy...

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Radiation Oncology · Henry Ford Health System
Answered on

I would hesitate to use palliative radiation for patients with dMMR rectal cancer as long as possible because there are many patients who could be treated with immunotherapy alone for their disease and avoid long-term toxicity from chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery (Cercek et al., PMID 40293177)....

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