Safety and Efficacy of Canagliflozin in Patients With Metastatic High Microsatellite Instability (MSI-H) Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC), ranking third in incidence among men and second in women globally with third-highest mortality in the US, remains a major health challenge despite multimodal therapies, particularly for advanced-stage patients with poor prognosis where immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) like PD-1/PD-L1 blockers have emerged as transformative agents by reinvigorating anti-tumor immunity through PD-1/PD-L1 pathway inhibition. While MSI-H CRC's high mutational burden renders it susceptible to immunotherapy, clinical trials demonstrate durable responses with domestic ICIs such as tislelizumab showing 41.2% ORR, 14.4-month PFS, and 28.7-month OS in metastatic MSI-H CRC, yet unmet needs persist. Intriguingly, SGLT-2 inhibitor exhibit promising oncolytic potential, particularly when combined with ICIs, as evidenced by observational studies revealing enhanced tumor control in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma through metabolic-immunologic crosstalk and our preclinical data showing synergistic CRC growth suppression with the SGLT-2 inhibitor canagliflozin plus PD-1 blockade. This phase II trial investigates the safety and efficacy of canagliflozin-tislelizumab combination in metastatic MSI-H CRC, evaluating its impact on PFS, OS, and ORR while dissecting tumor microenvironment modulation mechanisms, thereby pioneering a novel metabolic-immunotherapy paradigm that could redefine treatment paradigms through dual metabolic-immune regulation.