为我撰写一篇关于“放疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂治疗结直肠癌”的中文医学综述,重点聚焦基础研究和机制研究,...

创建于:2025年5月6日

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问题

为我撰写一篇关于“放疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂治疗结直肠癌”的中文医学综述,重点聚焦基础研究和机制研究,辅以临床研究,涵盖近5年的最新进展。内容将符合SCI科技文章规范,包含图表,并附真实文献,采用国标GB/T 7714格式。
具体要求:
1.综述主题或具体研究领域:放疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂治疗结直肠癌。
2.关键词(顺序代表重要性):1 放射治疗 2 免疫检查点抑制剂 3 肿瘤微环境 4 结直肠癌。
3.涵盖的时间范围:不限,但以近5年研究为主。
4.希望综述的文献类型:review,内容以基础研究、机制研究为主,临床研究为辅。综述内容和形式同SCI等科技文章要求相符。
5.是否有特定结构要求(如需包含背景、研究进展、争议点、未来方向等):无,内容和形式同SCI等科技文章要求。
6.是否希望包含图表(如研究进展时间线、机制图、数据对比表等):是。
7.是否有特定参考文献数量或引用格式要求(如APA、AMA、国标GB/T 7714等):是 提供具体参考文献(要求真实,拒绝虚构),要求国标GB/T 7714,参考文献数量同SCI等科技综述文章要求。
8.启动deep research。

回答

为了更高质量完成综述写作,我想确认几个细节:

  1. 您希望这篇综述的篇幅大致是多少?比如字数范围或SCI期刊常见篇幅(如6000字左右)。
  2. 您是否有意向投稿某类SCI期刊(如癌症方向、肿瘤免疫方向等),以便我们参考其风格结构?
  3. 是否需要涵盖所有主流免疫检查点抑制剂(如PD-1、PD-L1、CTLA-4等),或聚焦某一类?
  4. 对图表数量或形式(机制图、数据表格、趋势图等)有具体期望吗?

问题

1.SCI期刊常见篇幅,6000字左右。
2.我不打算将这篇文章投向SCI,我准备将其拆分后加入目前所撰写的基础研究文章和博士毕业论文中,请据此参考风格结构。
3.需要涵盖所有主流免疫检查点抑制剂(如PD-1、PD-L1、CTLA-4等),不需要聚焦某一类。
4.对图表数量或形式(机制图、数据表格、趋势图等)没有具体期望。
5.这是一篇SCI规格的中文综述。

回答

好的,我将撰写一篇符合SCI科技文章规范的中文综述,聚焦“放疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂治疗结直肠癌”的基础研究与机制研究,并辅以近5年的临床研究进展,涵盖PD-1、PD-L1 和 CTLA-4 等主流免疫检查点抑制剂。文中将包含真实图表和符合国标GB/T 7714格式的参考文献。 完成后我会为您展示初稿供进一步修改使用。

研究

✨ Radiotherapy combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors seems to enhance colorectal cancer treatment by activating the immune system and altering the tumor microenvironment.

I’m thinking through a mechanism diagram, a trend chart to show publications over time, and a data comparison table summarizing key clinical trials or preclinical results.

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✨ I'm piecing together Phase II data on combining checkpoint inhibitors with radiation for MSS CRC and PDAC. This innovative approach is explored in a noteworthy 2021 Nature piece.

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✨ I’m working through a frontiers article on radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer, focusing on current and future trends.

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✨ I'm piecing together the roles of radiotherapy and immunotherapy in colorectal cancer. This involves evaluating their collective effects on patient outcomes and survival rates.

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✨ Segal et al. report an 8.3% ORR and 25% grade 3-4 AE, indicating radiotherapy with ICIs enhances systemic immunity in MSS CRC.

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✨ I'm piecing together a thorough understanding of Chinese contributions to PD-1 inhibitors like camrelizumab, toripalimab, sintilimab, and tislelizumab, which are essential for the discussion in Chinese context.

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🔍 Searched for camrelizumab rectal cancer pCR 2022

✨ Considering the options, JITC aligns well.

🌐 Read jitc.bmj.com

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🌐 Read more from jitc.bmj.com

✨ I'm gathering info on an alternative source that might be accessible on the annals site or potentially behind a paywall on sciencedirect.

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✨ Referring to Segal NH et al's study in CCR 2021, showing an 8.3% ORR for durva+treme+RT in pMMR mCRC, aligns with previous findings.

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Research completed in 11m

回答

放疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂治疗结直肠癌研究进展综述

引言

结直肠癌是全球高发的恶性肿瘤之一,在2020年全球癌症统计中发病率和死亡率均名列前茅 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。传统治疗手段包括手术、化疗和放疗,但对于晚期或转移性结直肠癌,疗效仍不理想 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。近年来,免疫治疗(尤其是免疫检查点抑制剂, ICI)的兴起为多种肿瘤治疗带来突破。然而,在结直肠癌中免疫治疗效果存在显著差异:仅约4%~5%的微卫星高度不稳定(MSI-H)/错配修复缺陷(dMMR)患者对PD-1单抗产生持久应答,而占绝大多数的微卫星稳定(MSS)/错配修复正常(pMMR)患者对ICIs疗效甚微 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。如何提高MSS结直肠癌对免疫治疗的响应是当前研究的关键问题之一。

放射治疗(Radiotherapy, RT)不仅具有直接杀伤肿瘤细胞的作用,还可影响肿瘤微环境并诱导抗肿瘤免疫反应。这使得“放疗+免疫治疗”的组合成为近年来肿瘤综合治疗研究的热点 (Treatment strategies and molecular mechanism of radiotherapy ...) (Overview of the synergistic use of radiotherapy and immunotherapy ...) 。放疗有潜力将“冷肿瘤”转变为“热肿瘤”,提高免疫系统对肿瘤的识别和攻击;免疫检查点抑制剂则可解除肿瘤对免疫系统的抑制,两者协同有望产生1+1>2的效果 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。在结直肠癌领域,近5年来国内外进行了大量基础研究和临床试验,探索放疗联合PD-1/PD-L1、CTLA-4等检查点抑制的机制及疗效。

本文围绕“放疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂治疗结直肠癌”这一主题,重点梳理近五年的基础与机制研究进展,并兼顾临床研究结果。主要内容包括:放疗与ICIs协同的免疫机制(如免疫增强、肿瘤微环境重塑、抗原释放等),基础研究中常用的模型和方法及研究结论,肿瘤微环境在联合治疗中的作用,最新的临床试验进展,以及当前存在的争议、局限与未来展望等。旨在为该领域研究提供系统综述,并为进一步的转化研究和临床应用提供参考。

放疗与免疫检查点抑制剂协同作用机制

放射治疗可以引发一系列免疫学效应,被形象地称为将肿瘤转变为“体内疫苗”的过程 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。免疫检查点抑制剂则通过阻断肿瘤诱导的免疫抑制信号,从而恢复T细胞对肿瘤的杀伤功能。两者联合的协同机制体现在多个方面(图1)。

Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future 图1:放疗与免疫治疗协同作用机制示意图 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。放疗可促进肿瘤特异性抗原释放和呈递,将“冷肿瘤”转化为“热肿瘤”,并诱导远隔效应。同时放疗上调PD-L1等免疫检查点分子表达,为ICIs提供作用基础。

1. 抗原释放与免疫激活

放疗可诱导肿瘤细胞发生免疫原性细胞死亡(Immunogenic Cell Death, ICD),释放大量肿瘤相关抗原及损伤相关分子模式(DAMPs)信号,如高迁移率族蛋白B1(HMGB1)、ATP、热休克蛋白等 (Frontiers | Immunogenic Cell Death Induction by Ionizing Radiation) (Frontiers | Immunogenic Cell Death Induction by Ionizing Radiation) 。这些信号充当“吃我”或“找到我”信号,被树突状细胞(DC)等抗原呈递细胞感知并摄取肿瘤抗原,进而成熟并呈递抗原给T淋巴细胞 (Frontiers | Immunogenic Cell Death Induction by Ionizing Radiation) (Frontiers | Immunogenic Cell Death Induction by Ionizing Radiation) 。此外,放疗还能上调肿瘤细胞表面的主要组织相容性复合物I类分子(MHC-I)表达,增强肿瘤抗原被免疫系统识别的能力 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。研究表明,在非小细胞肺癌模型中放疗通过激活自噬上调MHC-I,增加了CD8+ T细胞对肿瘤的浸润 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。由此可见,放疗为机体提供了更多“弹药”(抗原)并提高“瞄准”(抗原呈递)的效率,为后续T细胞介导的免疫反应奠定基础。

伴随抗原释放,放疗还激活固有免疫感应通路,如细胞质DNA经cGAS-STING通路产生I型干扰素。这种放疗介导的干扰素响应可促进交叉初始作用,使树突细胞更有效地激活肿瘤特异性CD8+ T细胞 (Frontiers | Immunogenic Cell Death Induction by Ionizing Radiation) (Frontiers | Immunogenic Cell Death Induction by Ionizing Radiation) 。总体而言,放疗在局部消灭肿瘤的同时,通过抗原释放和固有免疫激活,实现了全身抗肿瘤免疫的“引燃”。

2. “冷肿瘤”向“热肿瘤”转变

免疫治疗难以奏效的一个原因是许多实体瘤属于免疫“冷肿瘤”,缺乏足够的肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞(TIL)和免疫激活信号。结直肠癌(尤其是MSS类型)典型地表现为肿瘤微环境中T细胞稀少、免疫抑制因素富集,即“冷肿瘤”表型 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。放疗可以改变这一局面。局部放射损伤肿瘤细胞后,死亡的肿瘤细胞及受损基质细胞释放的信号可提高肿瘤内的趋化因子和黏附分子水平,吸引循环中的效应T细胞进入肿瘤部位 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。同时,放疗诱导的炎症反应(如促炎性细胞因子的释放)有助于激活先天免疫,从而提供辅助刺激信号。这些作用叠加使原本对免疫治疗“不敏感”的“冷肿瘤”变得“滚烫”,对免疫攻击更易感 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。正如图1所示,放疗与免疫治疗组成“双重打击”(one-two punch):放疗打破肿瘤免疫豁免状态,ICIs则进一步增强T细胞的杀伤功能 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。有学者形象地将放疗赋予的全身抗肿瘤免疫效应称为将肿瘤转变为“原位疫苗” (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。这一协同作用机制为“放疗+ICIs”在冷肿瘤中的应用提供了理论基础。

3. 放疗诱导的远隔效应(Abscopal效应)

远隔效应是指对局部肿瘤实施放疗后,未接受照射的远处转移灶也出现缩小或消退的现象。这种现象被认为是放疗激活全身免疫所致,由Mole在1953年首次提出 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。然而,在临床上远隔效应单靠放疗极为罕见,往往需要结合免疫治疗才能实现 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。免疫检查点抑制剂的引入大大增加了观察到远隔效应的机会:越来越多前临床研究表明,放疗联合ICIs可以明显增强远隔效应 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。其机制可概括为:放疗释放肿瘤抗原并激活特异性T细胞,ICIs解除免疫刹车使这些T细胞得以增殖和发挥功能,从而攻击未照射病灶中的肿瘤细胞。

在小鼠结直肠癌模型中已有令人鼓舞的证据。例如,Dewan等的经典研究显示,在小鼠同时种植的双侧肿瘤模型中,单独放疗几乎不能控制未照射肿瘤,而放疗联合抗CTLA-4抗体可以使未照射肿瘤显著缩小,即出现远隔效应 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。值得注意的是,该研究还发现分次照射(例如3×8 Gy)的方案能诱导远隔效应,而单次大剂量(20 Gy)照射则不能 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。这提示分割放疗可能更有利于逐步释放抗原、激活持续的免疫反应。另一项研究中,Ji等采用直肠癌小鼠模型,放疗联合抗CD25和抗CTLA-4抗体,不仅控制了照射部位肿瘤的生长,还抑制了远处未照射肿瘤及肝转移灶的发生,显著延长了小鼠生存期 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。机制分析发现,与放疗单独组相比,联合治疗组小鼠肿瘤中浸润性CD8+ T细胞比例和CD8+/CD4+比值显著提高,调节性T细胞(Tregs)及表达PD-1的耗竭性T细胞显著减少 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。以上研究证实,放疗结合ICIs可以通过减少免疫抑制、增强效应T细胞活性来实现远隔部位的抗肿瘤效应,是对当前仅依赖局部治疗局限性的有力补充。

4. 免疫检查点分子表达的变化及应对

虽然放疗可引发动免疫反应,但肿瘤也会借助免疫抑制通路进行反制。其中,放疗诱导PD-L1表达上调是重要机制之一 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。研究显示,肿瘤接受局部放射后,其表面和肿瘤微环境中的PD-L1表达水平往往升高,这可能是由于辐射应激激活了肿瘤和浸润细胞中的IFN-γ等信号所致 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。PD-L1的上调会与T细胞上的PD-1受体结合,抑制T细胞增殖和效应功能,从而部分抵消放疗诱发的免疫效应 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。此外,放疗还可引起肿瘤及周围组织释放转化生长因子β(TGF-β)等免疫抑制性细胞因子,进一步促进免疫逃逸 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。因此,放疗后的肿瘤微环境常呈现一种“刹车”和“油门”并存的状态:一方面有抗原和炎症驱动的免疫激活,另一方面有检查点分子和免疫抑制因子限制过度免疫。

这一动态平衡为免疫检查点抑制剂提供了作用基础。通过应用抗PD-1/PD-L1抗体,可以阻断放疗后PD-1通路对T细胞的抑制作用,释放被“牵制”的抗肿瘤T细胞活性 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。例如,前述小鼠实验发现,与单纯放疗相比,放疗联合抗PD-1/PD-L1抗体可产生更有效的CD8+ T细胞反应,改善局部肿瘤控制并预防肿瘤复发 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。另外值得关注的是,有研究报道放疗可能影响错配修复(MMR)系统基因的表达:Seo等对结直肠癌细胞系和新辅助放化疗后的患者样本分析发现,放射可下调MMR相关基因的表达 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。在极少数病例中,放化疗后肿瘤的微卫星状态甚至可能由MSS转变为MSI-L (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。尽管这种转变并不常见,但如果放疗诱导了局部的“亚突变负荷”增加,理论上也会提升对PD-1抑制的敏感性,因为MSI状态往往预示着对免疫治疗良好的响应 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。总之,放疗后的免疫检查点分子变化为联合ICIs提供了明确的靶点,而ICIs的加入也正是为了解除这些放疗引起的免疫负反馈,从而最大化免疫杀伤效应。

5. 肿瘤微环境(TME)的重塑

放疗对肿瘤的影响不仅局限于肿瘤细胞本身,也包括对周围肿瘤微环境的重塑。肿瘤微环境中的各种细胞(免疫细胞、成纤维细胞、内皮细胞等)和因子(细胞因子、趋化因子、代谢产物等)共同决定了免疫反应的效力。在结直肠癌中,MSS肿瘤微环境往往呈现免疫抑制的特征,如肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞少而髓源性抑制细胞(MDSC)和Tregs相对富集,局部免疫缺陷导致ICIs疗效欠佳 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。放疗在一定程度上可以改变TME的组成成分和功能状态:

  • 促进效应细胞浸润:如前所述,放疗诱导的细胞因子和趋化因子有利于CD8+效应T细胞和NK细胞等浸润到肿瘤中,从而增强免疫攻击力量 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。一些研究也观察到放疗后肿瘤相关巨噬细胞(TAM)表型由免疫抑制的M2型向免疫促进的M1型转变,以及树突状细胞活化增加,这都有助于抗肿瘤免疫反应(需要更多结直肠癌特异性的研究佐证)。

  • 抑制细胞的清除或功能转变:放疗单独应用时,有时会招募调节性T细胞等抑制性细胞亚群至肿瘤微环境,或使某些效应T细胞表达抑制性受体(如PD-1)增加,这是机体对放射损伤的“负反馈”反应 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。因此,在联合治疗中通常通过ICIs或其他方式来清除或功能性灭活这些抑制成分。例如,CTLA-4抗体不仅阻断了效应T细胞上的抑制信号,也可消耗Tregs,从而减轻对免疫反应的压制 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。Ji等的小鼠实验即证明,抗CTLA-4联合抗CD25(清除Tregs)能显著降低肿瘤中Tregs比例,增强CD8+ T细胞效应功能,协同放疗发挥更强的抗肿瘤作用 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。

  • 细胞因子和代谢环境:放疗可改变局部的细胞因子谱。例如,放疗引起的组织损伤会释放TGF-β,促进组织修复和纤维化,但TGF-β对免疫反应有抑制作用 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。为应对这一点,有研究尝试同时阻断TGF-β和PD-L1,结果显示可通过重新编程肿瘤微环境来克服免疫逃逸 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。此外,放疗对肿瘤血管的影响可能一方面改善T细胞进入肿瘤的通路(暂时性“血管正常化”),另一方面高剂量照射也可能破坏血管导致缺氧、酸性等不利于免疫的环境。因此,需要权衡放疗剂量和分割方案以优化微环境条件。代谢方面,放疗可能消耗肿瘤微环境中的部分营养,释放例如胞苷酸等分子,这些变化对免疫细胞功能的影响也是未来研究方向。

总的来说,肿瘤微环境在放疗与ICIs联合治疗中扮演关键调控者角色。放疗为TME注入“兴奋剂”,也可能引入一些“抑制剂”,而ICIs和其他辅助策略的作用就是扬长避短,放大有利免疫成分(如效应T细胞、Ⅰ型干扰素、抗原提呈等),减少不利成分(如TGF-β、Tregs、MDSC等)。只有充分理解并调控TME,才能使联合治疗获得最佳效果。

基础研究进展:模型、方法及主要发现

为了深入理解放疗+ICIs在结直肠癌中的作用机制,大量基础研究在体外和动物水平展开。以下概括常用的实验模型检测手段及已获得的主要研究结论。

1. 常用模型:细胞系与动物模型

细胞系方面,常用的人结直肠癌细胞系包括HCT116、SW480、LoVo、CT26、MC38等。其中HCT116等为人源细胞系(HCT116为MSI-H模型,SW480为MSS模型),用于体外研究放疗诱导的分子变化(如PD-L1表达上调、DNA损伤反应等)和与免疫细胞共培养实验。而CT26和MC38是小鼠同种同源肿瘤细胞系:CT26来源于小鼠结肠癌(MSS表型),MC38来源于小鼠结肠腺癌(高度免疫原性,类似MSI-H)。将这些细胞接种于免疫健全的小鼠可建立移植瘤模型,用于在体评估放疗+免疫治疗的效果。这些同系模型具有完整的小鼠免疫系统,是目前研究联合疗法免疫机制的主力工具。例如,有研究在MC38小鼠模型中证实,放疗可诱导CRT(钙网织蛋白)暴露和HMGB1释放等免疫原性死亡标志,并观察到肿瘤生长延缓 (Frontiers | Immunogenic Cell Death Induction by Ionizing Radiation) (Frontiers | Immunogenic Cell Death Induction by Ionizing Radiation) 。

动物模型方面,除了上述移植瘤模型,研究者也尝试基因工程小鼠模型(GEMM)来模拟更接近临床的肿瘤发生环境。例如,携带Apc突变的小鼠会自发形成结直肠肿瘤,再叠加P53或Mismatch repair基因缺陷可获得不同免疫特性的肿瘤模型。不过GEMM模型进展缓慢、肿瘤位置分散,难以实施放疗干预,因而使用相对有限。人源肿瘤异种移植(PDX)模型将患者肿瘤片段移植到免疫缺陷鼠,再回输人免疫细胞(人源化小鼠)来模拟人免疫反应,但此模型昂贵且技术复杂,在放疗+ICIs研究中应用亦不广泛。目前,同系移植瘤模型仍是基础研究的首选。

2. 常用检测方法

基础研究通过多种技术手段解析联合治疗的免疫学变化,包括:

  • 流式细胞术:用于定量分析肿瘤及脾脏、淋巴结中各类免疫细胞的比例和活化状态。例如,可检测肿瘤浸润的CD8+ T细胞、CD4+ T细胞、Tregs等比例,及其PD-1、CTLA-4等受体表达情况 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。流式分析还能评估细胞增殖(Ki-67染色)、细胞因子产生(如细胞内IFN-γ染色)等功能指标,在联合治疗研究中应用广泛。

  • 免疫组化和多重免疫荧光:对肿瘤组织切片进行标记,以观察免疫细胞在空间上的分布和变化。例如,染色CD8可以直观显示放疗后肿瘤中T细胞浸润是否增加 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) ;PD-L1染色可比较放疗前后的表达差异 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。多重荧光技术则可在同一组织上同时检测多种标记(如CD8、FoxP3、PD-1等),帮助描绘联合治疗对肿瘤微环境的综合影响。

  • 分子生物学与基因表达分析:定量PCR和Western blot用于检测放疗后肿瘤及细胞中的关键基因和蛋白变化,例如MHC-I、PD-L1、STING通路相关蛋白等的表达上调或下调情况 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。此外,RNA测序、NanoString免疫基因面板等可提供全局视角,分析联合治疗引起的免疫相关基因表达谱变化,从中发掘潜在通路(如有研究关注放疗对MMR基因和MSI状态的影响 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) )。

  • 体外功能实验:包括T细胞杀伤实验(将分离的T细胞与放疗后肿瘤细胞共培养,评估杀伤能力),ELISPOT检测肿瘤特异T细胞分泌IFN-γ的频率,以及DC的抗原提呈功能测定等。这些实验阐明放疗是否增强了免疫细胞对肿瘤的识别和杀伤能力。例如,通过ELISPOT可发现,放疗后与抗PD-1联用的小鼠,其脾脏T细胞对肿瘤抗原的反应斑点数增加,表明系统性免疫被激发。

  • 小动物成像和检测:对于活体实验,小动物CT/核磁等可监测肿瘤生长变化;生物发光成像可用于报告基因标记的模型,追踪T细胞迁移和活性变化。此外,检测外周血细胞亚群和细胞因子水平(如ELISA检测血清中IL-2、TNFα、IFNβ等)也可反映全身免疫状态的改变。

3. 主要研究结论

利用上述模型和方法,基础研究在结直肠癌放疗+ICIs领域取得了一系列重要发现:

综上,基础研究已充分证明放疗+ICIs在结直肠癌中具有协同抗肿瘤作用,并初步阐明了其中的免疫学机制。这为临床上探索这一新型联合疗法奠定了科学基础。在此基础上,大量临床试验近年相继开展,以评估其实际疗效和安全性。下面将重点介绍近5年的临床研究进展。

临床研究进展

过去数年中,放疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂在结直肠癌患者中的临床应用探索主要集中于两个领域:转移性MSS结直肠癌(试图克服免疫治疗耐受)和局部晚期直肠癌新辅助治疗(提高病理缓解率,实现更好的预后或器官保留)。本节将分别综述这两方面的重要研究进展。

1. 转移性MSS结直肠癌中的联合免疫治疗

背景:对于失去手术机会的转移性结直肠癌(mCRC),免疫检查点抑制剂单药仅在MSI-H患者中显示出显著疗效 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。例如,pembrolizumab一线治疗MSI-H晚期CRC的客观缓解率(ORR)约为45% (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) ,而MSS患者应用PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂往往毫无缓解 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。因此,如何使MSS患者从免疫治疗中获益是一大挑战。鉴于放疗可增强肿瘤免疫原性,临床研究假设,对MSS患者的选定肿瘤病灶进行放疗,可释放抗原并招募T细胞,再辅以ICIs,有望诱导全身抗瘤免疫即远隔效应,从而控制未照射病灶。

临床试验和结果:近年已有多项早期临床试验进行了探索:

趋势和未来:基于上述结果,近期的策略调整集中在三联疗法上,即在放疗+ICIs基础上再加入第三种干预,以期提高疗效。例如,添加其他免疫调节剂(如TGF-β抑制剂、STING激动剂)、溶瘤病毒肿瘤疫苗等。目前正在进行的一些临床试验包括:放疗+PD-1抑制剂联合抗血管生成药物(如贝伐单抗)或激活性细胞因子(如IL-15类似物)等。在MSS患者人群中选择治疗时机也很重要,有学者提出将放疗+ICIs前移至一线或二线治疗,与化疗联合,以利用较低的肿瘤负荷和更健全的免疫功能来取得更好效果。尽管尚无突破性成果,但这一路径在稳步推进,未来大型随机对照试验有望进一步明确其对MSS mCRC总体生存的影响。

2. 局部晚期直肠癌新辅助中的联合治疗

背景:对于局部晚期直肠癌(LARC,通常指cT3-4或N+,II-III期直肠癌),新辅助放化疗(CRT)是标准治疗,可缩小肿瘤、提高保肛率并降低局部复发风险。然而,标准放化疗的病理完全缓解率(pCR)仅约15%左右,这意味着大部分患者肿瘤残存,不得不接受根治性手术切除。提高新辅助治疗的肿瘤消融率一直是临床追求的目标之一。近年来,全程新辅助治疗(TNT)的兴起(放化疗联合多周期化疗)将pCR率提高到20-30% (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。与此同时,对于dMMR直肠癌患者,单纯免疫治疗在新辅助环境取得了突破——2022年报道的一个小型研究中,12例dMMR直肠癌经PD-1抗体治疗后100%临床完全缓解,无需手术即实现了保留器官 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。虽然这是特殊亚型病例,但凸显了免疫治疗在直肠癌新辅助中的潜力。因此,在常规的放化疗基础上叠加ICIs,被认为有望进一步提高pCR率,甚至为更多患者创造“无手术”治疗的可能。

主要临床试验

小结:总体而言,在局部晚期直肠癌新辅助治疗中,放疗联合ICIs展现出了提升病理缓解率的潜力。不同研究pCR率提高幅度有所不同,从未显著提高(Rahma试验)到大幅提高(Lin试验),这可能与方案、药物、患者分期及分子特征等差异有关。但可以肯定的是,对于MSI-H/dMMR患者,放疗+ICIs几乎可以确保高概率的完全缓解 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) ,未来或不再需要术前放疗即可单纯IO治愈。而对于MSS患者,数据支持在传统新辅助基础上加入ICIs可使相当一部分患者受益(pCR提高10-30个百分点不等)。此外,安全性普遍良好,未见不可接受的并发症增加。一些学者据此提出,若患者在新辅助放疗+ICIs后达到临床完全缓解(cCR),是否可以选择“watch and wait”策略即暂不手术,定期严密随访,将手术保留为挽救措施。这种“免疫+放疗”实现器官保存的理念令人振奋,但需要更多前瞻研究验证其长期无瘤生存是否与手术相当。目前多个前瞻性队列和试验正关注这一问题。

当前争议与局限性

尽管放疗联合免疫治疗在结直肠癌中展现出希望,但仍存在不少争议和局限,需要谨慎对待:

(1)疗效的普遍性与可预测性:联合治疗的疗效具有显著异质性。部分患者(包括一些MSS患者)从中获益,实现肿瘤明显缩小甚至完全缓解,但也有相当比例患者无明显响应。这使得如何筛选敏感人群成为迫切问题。当前已知MSI-H状态是免疫疗法的有力生物标志物,但MSI-H只占少数且本身对免疫单药已高效。对于MSS患者,可能的预测指标有:肿瘤突变负荷(TMB),基线肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞丰度,PD-L1表达,以及新近报道的某些分子(如内源逆转录病毒HERVK表达、NK细胞浸润等) (Radiation therapy enhances immunotherapy response in microsatellite stable colorectal and pancreatic adenocarcinoma in a phase II trial | Nature Cancer) 。然而,目前尚无公认的标志物能在MSS人群中准确预测谁会对放疗+ICIs产生远隔效应或病理缓解。未来需要更多研究(包括治疗前肿瘤和外周血的生物标志物分析)来解决这个问题 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。

(2)最佳放疗方案和时序不明确:放疗有诸多参数可调,如单次剂量、分割次数、照射体积和时序等。基础研究提示分割放疗可能优于单次放疗 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) ,但临床上具体如何选择仍在摸索。现有试验中,有采用常规分割(如1.8-2Gy×25-28次)、短程高分割(5Gy×5)、中等分割(8Gy×3)甚至超低分割(0.5Gy×多次) (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。不同方案对免疫系统的影响不同,如低剂量可能更多影响肿瘤微环境的免疫细胞,而高剂量更直接杀伤肿瘤释放抗原。Monjazeb试验对比的结果并未显示8Gy×3与0.5Gy×16在诱导免疫上的明显差异 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) ,但这需要更大样本验证。同样,放疗时机也是争议焦点:是应在ICIs前预先放疗引爆抗原,还是在ICIs治疗一段时间后再辅以放疗促进已活化的T细胞浸润?抑或同步进行?目前多数研究选择同步或序贯紧随(如放疗期间开始用ICIs或放疗结束后立即接上ICIs),这样既不延误局部治疗,也确保免疫药物能及时作用于放疗诱导的免疫环境。这一策略似乎可行,但缺乏直接的对比试验证据。今后也许需要专门的临床试验比较不同放疗剂量和时序,以优化协同效应。

(3)安全性与毒性:放疗+ICIs的毒性谱需要警惕。当前试验多显示该联合耐受性尚可,如直肠癌新辅助研究中免疫相关不良反应多为1-2级 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。然而,在一定背景下可能出现叠加毒性:例如对盆腔照射的直肠癌患者,同时使用CTLA-4或PD-1抗体,理论上可能增加结肠炎、放射性肠炎的发生风险;肝转移病灶放疗联合ICIs可能升高肝功能损伤风险等。在一些病例报道中,联合治疗后发生严重的肺部副反应(如放射增敏的肺炎)以及自身免疫现象。Segal试验中25%的3-4级不良事件率值得关注 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。因此,在临床实践中需要密切监测免疫相关不良事件(irAE)放疗相关急性反应,并积极管理。此外,对于新辅助治疗患者,还需评估联合治疗是否影响手术操作和愈合。从现有报道看,联合IO的新辅助方案并未明显增加手术难度或并发症,但这需要在更多患者中验证。

(4)抗肿瘤免疫的持久性:一个争议是联合治疗诱导的免疫效应能否长期持续,从而转化为生存获益。远隔效应和pCR是早期疗效指标,但更重要的是是否真的改善了患者的无病生存(DFS)或总生存(OS)。目前大部分试验随访时间尚短,难以下结论。有可能一些患者出现初始免疫响应但随后肿瘤又进化出新的免疫逃逸机制导致复发。这也关系到后续治疗策略:对于出现部分缓解的患者,是否继续给予免疫治疗巩固?对于cCR患者选择保守观察后,一旦复发如何补救?这些都缺乏数据支持。因此,需要更长随访和III期对照试验来评估联合治疗是否真正在不同临床情境下改善预后。

(5)成本和可及性:免疫检查点抑制剂价格昂贵,将其用于广谱的结直肠癌患者会带来经济负担。另外,放疗+ICIs要求多学科配合和患者多次就医,对医疗资源也是考验。尤其在一些发展中国家或基层医院,如何落实这一综合治疗是现实挑战。目前PD-1/PD-L1抑制剂逐渐在国内纳入医保,但适应症主要针对MSI-H mCRC,对于MSS患者的探索尚属临床试验范畴,未进入常规治疗。这一局限意味着在证据成熟之前,此疗法难以大规模推广。

(6)理论层面的争议:还有一些理论问题值得讨论。例如,“放疗是否可能降低免疫治疗的靶标?” 放疗大量杀伤肿瘤后,肿瘤负荷减少,抗原来源也减少,免疫治疗是否反而失去“用武之地”?这种观点认为过于激进的局部治疗也许减少了全身免疫刺激。不过当前主流观点认为剩余的抗原即使减少但更容易被免疫系统清除,而且放疗带来的炎症可增强T细胞对少量抗原的敏感度。因此两者不冲突。但这个假设需通过比较“ICIs先 vs 放疗先 vs 同步”的试验来间接评估。再如,“肿瘤微环境的复杂适应”:放疗+ICIs可能引发肿瘤细胞产生新的变异或招募替代性抑制途径(如其他检查点分子LAG-3、TIM-3表达增加)。这些都是潜在的耐受机制,目前仍在研究之中 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。

归纳而言,放疗联合ICIs在结直肠癌中的应用仍处于探索阶段。目前看,其疗效受限于肿瘤免疫冷淡程度,如何挑选获益人群和优化治疗参数仍未解决。同时,虽然大多数研究显示毒性可控,但需防范特殊情况下的严重不良事件。医学界对此既充满期待又保持审慎,必须在后续研究中逐一攻克上述难题,才能将这一策略从临床试验推向临床实践。

未来研究方向与转化前景

放疗联合免疫治疗作为新兴的综合疗法,有望为结直肠癌患者带来新的希望。为了充分发挥其潜力,未来需要在以下几个方向上深化研究,并推动成果向临床转化:

1. 探索更深入的协同机制:虽然目前我们认识到抗原释放、免疫浸润增强、检查点上调等机制,但关于剂量分割、空间效应等更细节的问题仍需实验研究澄清。例如,进一步探讨不同放疗剂量/分割方案对免疫激活和抑制通路的影响:是否存在一个“最佳免疫剂量”(例如中等剂量范围内)既能释放足够抗原又不过度诱导抑制因子?再如,照射体积和部位选择:照射淋巴结区域是否有助于释放淋巴细胞库?多部位同时照射是否优于单部位以引发更强的全身效应,抑或增加毒性?此外,免疫微环境的动态变化过程需要更直观的监测手段,如活体成像技术标记T细胞的运动轨迹、单细胞测序分析放疗前后肿瘤及周边免疫细胞的状态转变等。这些深入机制研究将为优化临床方案提供依据。

2. 开发预测疗效的生物标志物:正如前文所述,疗效异质性是当前难点,因此预测何种患者能够受益非常关键。未来研究可从多层面入手:** 分子层面**,通过基线肿瘤基因表达谱或突变特征寻找关联,如是否存在“发炎基因签名”可以预示远隔效应发生。细胞层面,应用高维流式或空间转录组技术,定义肿瘤微环境中有利的细胞组合(例如CD8^high、Treg^low、DC成熟等)是否对应更好疗效。液体活检方面,评估治疗前循环肿瘤DNA (ctDNA)水平、T细胞受体克隆多样性、特定细胞因子(如IL-8、IFN-γ)浓度等是否具有预测价值。一些初步研究已经给出线索:Parikh等发现NK细胞浸润和HERVK表达与疾病控制相关 (Radiation therapy enhances immunotherapy response in microsatellite stable colorectal and pancreatic adenocarcinoma in a phase II trial | Nature Cancer) ;Segal等观察到循环CD8+T细胞激活标志物与远处ORR相关 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。未来或可建立多参数预测模型来筛选患者。同时,动态监测治疗过程中标志物的变化(如中途ctDNA清除与否)也可帮助评估疗效、指导疗程。

3. 优化联合策略与组合疗法:单纯的放疗+现有ICIs也许并不足以充分激活对抗MSS结直肠癌的免疫。因此,三联及多联疗法是未来趋势。例如:

  • 放疗 + ICIs + 肿瘤疫苗/新抗原疫苗:放疗提供抗原源,疫苗加强免疫系统对肿瘤抗原的识别,ICIs解除抑制,这三者有望形成互补。特别是在结直肠癌中,如果能基于每个患者的肿瘤新抗原设计个性化疫苗,与放疗同时给予,或将增强T细胞特异性杀伤力。
  • 放疗 + ICIs + 代谢/微环境调节剂:针对放疗引起的免疫抑制因素,可加入相应抑制剂。如TGF-β阻断剂(目前一些TGF-β单克隆抗体或小分子正在研发) (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 、IDO抑制剂(调控色氨酸代谢,减轻免疫抑制)、CSF-1R抑制剂(减少免疫抑制性巨噬细胞)等,与放疗+ICIs联用,期望改善TME。Lan等在小鼠模型中已经证明同时抑制TGF-β和PD-L1可以增强放疗效果 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。
  • 放疗 + ICIs + 其它新型检查点抑制剂:除了PD-1/CTLA-4,新的检查点如LAG-3(淋巴细胞激活基因3)、TIGIT等在结直肠癌中表达也有所增加,尤其在免疫抵抗过程中 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。已有针对这些靶点的药物进入临床,如抗LAG-3抗体在黑色素瘤中显示前景,未来可考虑引入结直肠癌联合方案,通过多重检查点阻断来防止肿瘤“绕道”。
  • 放疗 + ICIs + 化疗/靶向治疗:化疗本身可以导致免疫原性细胞死亡(如奥沙利铂已知可诱导ICD),且清除部分肿瘤负荷,为免疫系统减压。经典的CAPOX或FOLFOX方案联合放疗+PD-1抑制剂在LARC中已实践(Lin等研究即是例子),结果相当出色 (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) (Frontiers | Radioimmunotherapy in colorectal cancer treatment: present and future) 。在转移性疾病中,也有试验探索FOLFOXIRI三药+抗VEGF+放疗+PD-1的“极限方案”。虽然复杂,但如果安全可行,或许是攻克MSS的方案之一。此外,一些靶向药(如Regorafenib)具有免疫调节效应,也可与放疗+ICIs联合。

4. 新技术与新形式放疗的应用:放射肿瘤学的进步也将为联合疗法提供新机遇。比如MRI引导的自适应放疗可以更精准地集中剂量、减少正常组织损伤,从而允许更大胆的联合ICIs而不增加副作用。质子和重离子放疗由于物理剂量分布优势,或可在减少正常组织损伤的同时给予肿瘤更高的生物有效剂量,潜在提高免疫刺激(目前已有研究在探讨重离子放射能否更强诱导免疫原性)。FLASH放疗(超高剂量率放射)是新近兴起的技术,在正常组织保护上有奇效,如果应用于联合疗法,可望显著降低并发症风险,腾出免疫系统空间。局部放射性剂量增强剂(如铪纳米粒子)也被用于提高肿瘤放射杀伤并释放DAMPs (DNA damage enhancement by radiotherapy-activated hafnium ...) 。这些新技术都需要与免疫学研究结合,找出各自最适配的免疫策略。

5. 转化研究和临床协作:未来应加强基础与临床的紧密结合。例如,在临床试验中内置生物学研究,通过活检和血样分析来验证动物模型中的发现(如STING通路激活标志、T细胞受体谱变化等),并反过来根据临床观察反馈来调整实验假说。国内外的多中心协作也很重要,因为单中心小样本往往结论局限。国际上已有合作组专门研究放射免疫组合(如RADIO-immunotherapy consortium),国内可以建立类似联盟,整合各大中心资源,加快III期临床推进。值得关注的是,中国拥有大量结直肠癌患者和多款自主研发的ICIs,在这一领域具有开展大规模随机研究的优势。未来5-10年,如果中国能够主导开展一些关键性的大样本对照试验(例如验证放疗+国产PD-1抑制剂在MSS转移性CRC中是否提高OS),将为全球提供宝贵数据。

6. 临床应用前景:若上述研究取得成功,放疗+ICIs有望在结直肠癌治疗谱中占据一席之地。在转移性CRC方面,可能成为标准治疗后的辅助手段,如用于寡转移患者控制残余病灶、诱导远隔效应延长生存;或用于MSI-H患者的放射增敏(尽管MSI-H对IO已好,但结合放疗也许可以清除少量不应答克隆)。在局部晚期直肠癌方面,放疗+ICIs有望写入新辅助治疗指南,提高pCR以改善预后,甚至对于高度选择的患者,实现非手术管理(Watch & Wait)而不影响生存。这将极大改善直肠癌患者的生活质量。事实上,已有国际临床试验(如CAO/ARO-12试验)在评价新辅助放化疗+免疫后不手术策略。可以预见,多学科治疗模式将因为免疫的加入而改变:肿瘤科医师、外科医师、放疗科医师需要更紧密合作,根据患者疾病特征和生物标志物制定个体化的综合方案。例如,对于MRI提示淋巴结阳性的直肠癌,或许可推荐放疗+ICIs提高术前缓解;对于转移病灶局限的患者,可在全身治疗基础上对转移灶给予消融剂量放疗并联合ICIs,争取控制全身。总之,这种疗法的前景并非取代已有手段,而是丰富和强化综合治疗手段,提升治愈率和远期生存。

结语

放射治疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂代表了结直肠癌综合治疗领域的一个新前沿。基础研究层面,我们加深了对其协同作用机制的理解:放疗为免疫系统提供了弹药和助推,而ICIs确保了免疫炮火精准且持久地打击肿瘤。临床研究层面,尽管MSS结直肠癌对该策略的反应依然不如人意,但已有成功案例和提高缓解率的证据在不断涌现,特别是在新辅助治疗中展现出鼓舞人心的结果。在实践应用前,我们仍需解决患者筛选、方案优化和安全管理等诸多问题。然而,以目前研究的快速进展来看,这一领域正朝着更有效、更安全、更个性化的方向发展。

对于结直肠癌这个异质性很强且长期缺乏免疫疗法普遍获益的瘤种,放疗+免疫治疗的兴起提供了全新的思路。有理由相信,随着机理研究的深入和临床证据的积累,未来5-10年内我们将看到更多令人瞩目的突破——或许是某种新组合实现了MSS转移癌长期生存,或许是明确了哪些患者可以依赖免疫疗法而避免外科手术。当这些转变发生之时,结直肠癌的治疗范式也将迎来升级。总之,放疗联合免疫检查点抑制剂在结直肠癌中的应用前景值得期待,它不仅丰富了治疗手段,更为攻克“冷肿瘤”这一难题带来了曙光。我们相信,通过科研工作者和临床医师的共同努力,这一综合疗法终将成熟并造福广大结直肠癌患者。

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(以上参考文献格式按照GB/T 7714标准列出)

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