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COMMIT

About the COMMIT Trial



Table of Contents

Major Presentations and Milestones

COMMIT Trial design, results, and conclusions

COMMIT Sentiments and Criticisms

COMMIT Temporal Sentiment Arc

Professional Resources : Interactive Tweet History, Influence Diagram, Sentiment Table, AI Chatbot

COMMIT Trial: Major Presentations and Milestones

Primary speakers driving the story

At ASCO GI 2026 (#GI26), the phase III COMMIT trial (NRG-GI004/SWOG-S1610) became a focal point for discussion in first-line dMMR/MSI-H metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Jun Gong, MD summarized the presentation noting the study was closed after results from CheckMate-8HW (“right thing to do”) and emphasizing the striking PFS difference with immature OS.

Several KOLs also highlighted the “story behind the story”: the unexpectedly poor outcomes in the atezolizumab-alone control arm compared with prior PD-1–based datasets (e.g., KEYNOTE-177). Daisuke Kotani, MD, PhD explicitly framed COMMIT as “positive results, yet interpret with caution,” and asked why the PD-L1 inhibitor control arm appeared to underperform.

In later discussion threads, clinicians extended the implications beyond metastatic disease—questioning whether atezolizumab underperformance should influence adjuvant MSI strategies and ongoing trial programs.

COMMIT Trial Design, Results, and Conclusions

Trial Design:

COMMIT (NRG-GI004/SWOG-S1610) is a randomized phase III trial in first-line dMMR/MSI-H mCRC comparing:

Arm A: atezolizumab (PD-L1 inhibitor) monotherapy

Arm B: mFOLFOX6 + bevacizumab + atezolizumab

KOLs noted the trial’s accrual was suspended/closed as standards evolved (e.g., CheckMate-8HW), leaving relatively small numbers per arm at the time of analysis.

Primary Results (as reported in tweets):

Across multiple on-site summaries, the chemo/VEGF/PD-L1 combination improved tumor control and PFS versus atezolizumab alone:

Overall Survival (OS):

Multiple KOLs explicitly stated no OS benefit was observed at the time of reporting (immature OS), despite the PFS separation (e.g., Vogel: “no OS benefit”; Gill: “No diff in OS observed”).

Safety:

Tweet summaries emphasized increased toxicity with the chemotherapy/VEGF backbone:

Key Conclusions:

Based on KOL commentary captured here, COMMIT demonstrates that adding chemotherapy + bevacizumab to atezolizumab can markedly improve PFS and response metrics versus atezolizumab alone in first-line MSI-H/dMMR mCRC. However, the community response was tempered by (1) lack of OS signal to date, (2) substantial toxicity, and (3) persistent concern that the atezolizumab monotherapy arm performed unusually poorly relative to historical PD-1 inhibitor data—raising questions about cross-trial comparability and the role of PD-L1 blockade in this biomarker-defined population.

COMMIT Sentiments and Criticisms

Positive Reception (signal strength in PFS/response):

Nicholas Hornstein, MD (context: full presentation data): “COMMIT, now with the full presentation data, deserves a serious re-examination. … “PFS separation is striking mPFS 24.5 vs 5.3 months” https://x.com/GIMedOnc/status/2010111877788119089

Central controversy: underperformance of atezolizumab monotherapy

Pashtoon Kasi, MD, MS: “monotherapy with Atezo is way underperforming compared to prior IO data.” https://x.com/pashtoonkasi/status/2010106875379892472

Daisuke Kotani, MD, PhD: “Why did Atezo (control arm) perform poorly compared to Pembro (KN177) or Nivo (CM8HW)?https://x.com/DaisukeKotani/status/2010190726743896206

Aparna Parikh, MD: “one other lingering question re COMMIT, why did atezo perform so poorly? K177 didn’t have central testing either. ATOMIC implications? PDL1 effect?https://x.com/aparna1024/status/2010192484266324179

Practice-facing skepticism: do we need chemo in 2026 for MSI-H?

Manju George, PhD: “The COMMIT results have made the field unnecessarily complicated … “Why use chemo in 2026, in a subset which has great results with proven immunotherapy in trials like 8HW and KN 177?” https://x.com/manjuggm/status/2010750734237630601

Interpretability concerns / limitations:

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD: “This one I find challenging to understand fully — many limitations of coursehttps://x.com/GIcancerDoc/status/2010441756421333159

Ethics and trial conduct (standards changing mid-study):

Daneng Li, MD: “Good to see studies and investigators doing the right thing and reevaluating continuation of studies when new data becomes available and standards of care changes. Putting patients first is key.https://x.com/DanengLi/status/2010113247115116554

COMMIT Temporal Sentiment Arc

2024–2025 (Unrelated “COMMIT” usage in myeloma community)

Primary/KOL tweets:

January 2026 (ASCO GI 2026: COMMIT in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC)

Primary/KOL tweets:

Overall, the COMMIT discussion at #GI26 was characterized by a dual narrative: (1) a strong efficacy signal for adding chemo/VEGF blockade to PD-L1 inhibition in MSI-H/dMMR mCRC, and (2) persistent concern that the control arm’s unexpectedly poor performance complicates clinical interpretation and guideline translation.

COMMIT Professional Resources