This study investigates the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of sintilimab, an immunotherapy agent, in combination with nCRT for treatment of patients with intermediate/high Immunoscore locally advanced rectal cancer. Sintilimab is an anti-PD-1 inhibitor that works by enhancing the functional activity of the target immune cells to facilitate tumor regression and ultimately immune rejection.
Immunoscore has been reported to be superior to microsatellite instability staging in predicting the disease-specific recurrence and survival for patients with colorectal cancer. However, the relationship between Immunoscore and its impact on patient's response to PD-1 blockade remains to be elucidated. This phase II, prospective, open label study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) with the anti-PD-1 antibody sintilimab for intermediate/high Immunoscore locally advanced rectal cancer.