Nature Medicine publishes the UNICORN phase 2 trial results on neoadjuvant botensilimab and balstilimab in colon cancer.

What it means

This is the peer-reviewed publication of the phase 2 UNICORN trial, which tested the combination of botensilimab (a CTLA‑4 inhibitor) and balstilimab (a PD‑1 inhibitor) as a short preoperative (neoadjuvant) treatment for patients with locally advanced colon cancer. In the pMMR (mismatch repair‑proficient) cohort, 36% of patients achieved a major pathologic response (tumor shrinkage) after receiving the two‑drug combination; in the dMMR (mismatch repair‑deficient) cohort, 100% responded. The paper, published in *Nature Medicine*, reports these results and shows that the combination remodels the tumor microenvironment even in the historically immunotherapy‑resistant pMMR subtype.

Accuracy & sourcesSourced

The claim is directly from the original *Nature Medicine* publication, a peer‑reviewed primary source. Multiple news outlets (Cancer Network, investing.com) and the ASCO abstract independently report the same response rates, further corroborating the findings. The reported numbers—36% major pathologic response in pMMR and 100% in dMMR—are direct from the paper’s results.

How new

Genuinely new: the *Nature Medicine* article was published approximately 6 hours ago, and news coverage appeared within the last day.

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• Nature Medicine — first to publish