Recent research progress and clinical status of immunotherapy for colorectal cancer.

[BACKGROUND] The incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing worldwide, particularly among younger adults. Consequently, developing novel treatment strategies for CRC is necessary. As a recently developed therapeutic modality, immunotherapy has attracted substantial attention from researchers worldwide. Immunotherapy, in which a patient's immune system is modified to identify and kill cancer cells, is more targeted and less harmful than chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. It has demonstrated promising therapeutic efficacy in metastatic and recurrent CRC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and ipilimumab, have been approved for the treatment of advanced CRC in clinical practice. In addition, immunotherapies such as cancer vaccines and adoptive cell therapy (ACT) have received considerable interest. Although immunotherapy improves the prognosis and quality of life of patients, heterogeneous treatment outcomes may occur owing to differences in individual characteristics and tumor types.

[AIM OF REVIEW] This review aimed to summarize the recent research progress and clinical status of immunotherapy in CRC and explore future research directions in this field.

[KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW] Immunotherapy strategies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, and ACT, target and eliminate tumor cells through the human immune system. In this review, we highlight the research progress, applications, and future perspectives of immunotherapy, providing novel avenues for enhancing its therapeutic efficacy in CRC in clinical settings.