# Agenus Reports 72% Pathologic Complete Response in dMMR Colon Cancer Cohort

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/40672
Published: 2026-10-25T21:13:25.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-25T21:13:25.000Z
Section: Business

> The 18-patient Phase 2 cohort also met the study’s primary major pathologic response measure in 83% of patients.

Results from an 18-patient Phase 2 cohort of people with resectable, nonmetastatic mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) colon cancer showed a pathologic complete response in 72% after treatment before surgery. The results were presented Oct. 25 in a NEOASIS poster at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.

The study’s primary endpoint, major pathologic response, was reached by 83% of patients. The institute sponsored NEOASIS, and Agenus supplied botensilimab and balstilimab.

A dMMR tumor has a faulty mismatch-repair system, which normally helps correct DNA errors. Major pathologic response meant 10% or less viable tumor remained at surgery. Pathologic complete response meant no cancer remained in the tumor or nearby lymph nodes.

All patients had locally advanced disease, with tumors staged at least T3. Sixty-seven percent had T4 tumors, and 72% had nearby lymph node involvement. NEOASIS evaluated the drug combination before surgery in patients with resectable solid tumors; this poster covered the dMMR colon cancer cohort.

Patients received one 50-milligram dose of botensilimab on Day 1 and two 450-milligram doses of balstilimab, on Days 1 and 22. The treatment course lasted six weeks, with surgery scheduled within eight weeks. All 18 patients underwent surgery. Seventeen had surgery as planned, while one had the procedure on Day 41 after a bowel obstruction.

At a median follow-up of 15 months, all patients were alive and 16 of 18 had no recurrence. Most immune-related side effects were Grade 1 or 2. One patient had Grade 3 colitis, which resolved with treatment.

The cohort was small and had no comparison arm, so its results do not show how the combination compares with another treatment. The findings also do not establish how the drugs perform in microsatellite-stable colon cancer or whether treatment improves long-term recurrence outcomes. Botensilimab and balstilimab remain investigational and are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.