The current status of immunotherapy in colorectal cancer: A systematic review

The following systematic review aimed to present the current status of immunotherapy in colorectal cancer, in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant and metastatic setting. Pubmed, Cochrane and Embase databases were searched up to April 2024 and the PICO framework, as well as the following inclusion criteria (clinical studies in English published ≥2000 per year, both retrospective and prospective, including abstracts from relevant congresses, yet excluding case reports, letters, phase I clinical trials and radioimmunotherapy) were applied. MINORS and RoB2 were used to assess quality and risk of bias. Due to heterogeneity of the studies, a descriptive analysis was performed. In total, 99 studies (including 11 226 patients) were analysed, concluding that immunotherapy application, although encouraging, still needs refinement, most importantly in terms of patient and treatment regimen selection. The review was registered on the PROSPERO platform (ID: CRD42023417537) and funded by a grant by the Spanish Association of Surgery (AEC).