Although standard neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) effectively reduces local recurrence, radiotherapy-related toxicities and surgical complications severely impair patients' quality of life, making a radiotherapy-free strategy urgently needed. However, chemotherapy alone yields a pathological complete response (pCR) rate of only 6.6%-15%, which is far from satisfactory. The pMMR/MSS subtype, accounting for 90% of rectal cancers, is "immune-cold" and shows almost no response to PD-1 monotherapy; nonetheless, chemotherapy can reshape the tumor immune microenvironment, and multiple studies have demonstrated that combining chemotherapy with PD-1 inhibitors (without radiotherapy) can elevate pCR rates to 26.8%-42.9%, yet further improvement remains desirable. A recent mechanistic study published in Cell Metabolism (2026) revealed that a single 16-hour fasting episode before treatment promotes isoleucine accumulation in the tumor microenvironment, which enhances CD8+T-cell cytotoxic function and reduces exhaustion through acetyl-CoA metabolism and epigenetic reprogramming, thereby significantly sensitizing PD-1 inhibitors-and this intervention is non-invasive, low-cost, and easily adoptable by patients. Based on the above evidence, we hypothesize that the neoadjuvant triple-combination regimen of "16-hour fasting + chemotherapy + PD-1 inhibitor" (radiotherapy-free) in pMMR/MSS locally advanced mid-to-low rectal cancer may further increase pCR rates and tumor regression, offering a novel, highly effective, and low-toxicity therapeutic option for LARC patients.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
51
Patients begin fasting at 20:00 on the day prior to immunotherapy (only plain water is allowed) and continue until 10:00 the next morning, when serplulimab is administered. Fasting is maintained until 12:00 noon, after which normal diet may be resumed.
Serplulimab is an innovative monoclonal antibody targeting PD-1, developed by Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Inc. 300 mg, IV, d1, q3w. CAPEOX regimen: Oxaliplatin(130mg/m2) on day 1 of each cycle and Capecitabine, 1000mg/m2, PO, BID, day1-14, q3w. 4 cycles
Pathological complete response rates
Proportion of participants achieving pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant therapy.
Time frame: 10 days after surgery
Rate of clinical complete response rate(cCR)
Proportion of participants achieving clinical complete response (cCR) after neoadjuvant therapy.
Time frame: 1 year
R0 resection rates
Proportion of patients achieved a complete resection with negative margin
Time frame: 10 days after surgery
Disease Free Survival
Defined as the interval from enrollment to locoregional or metastatic recurrence or the appearance or a secondary colorectal cancer or death, whichever occurs first
Time frame: 3 years
Event free survival
Defined as the time from enrollment to the first occurrence of any of the following events: tumor disease progression on imaging as assessed by RECIST 1.1; tumor recurrence, including local recurrence or distant recurrence, as assessed on imaging or tissue biopsy transfer; death from any cause.
Time frame: 3 years
Overall survival (OS)
Defined as the time between the date of enrollment and death from any cause.
Time frame: 3 years
Treatment-related adverse events
Assessed by evaluation of treatment-related adverse events.
Time frame: 1 year
Single-Cell RNA Sequencing (scRNA-seq) of Tumor Microenvironment
Use single cell sequence to describe changes in the microenvironment of rectal cancer before and after treatment.
Time frame: 1 year
Spatial Transcriptomics Profiling of Tumor and Stroma
Explore spatial organization of gene expression within the tumor microenvironment and its association with treatment response using spatial transcriptomics.
Time frame: 1 year
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