Cited by 1,260Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersImmunotherapy and Immune ResponsesRadiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Applications

Using immunotherapy to boost the abscopal effect

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Ngwa, Wilfred, Irabor, Omoruyi Credit, Schoenfeld, Jonathan D., Hesser, Jürgen, Demaria, Sandra, Formenti, Silvia C.·2018·Nature Reviews Cancer

Abstract

More than 60 years ago, the effect whereby radiotherapy at one site may lead to regression of metastatic cancer at distant sites that are not irradiated was described and called the abscopal effect (from 'ab scopus', that is, away from the target). The abscopal effect has been connected to mechanisms involving the immune system. However, the effect is rare because at the time of treatment, established immune-tolerance mechanisms may hamper the development of sufficiently robust abscopal responses. Today, the growing consensus is that combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy provides an opportunity to boost abscopal response rates, extending the use of radiotherapy to treatment of both local and metastatic disease. In this Opinion article, we review evidence for this growing consensus and highlight emerging limitations to boosting the abscopal effect using immunotherapy. This is followed by a perspective on current and potential cross-disciplinary approaches, including the use of smart materials to address these limitations.

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [37]Habets THPM Fractionated radiotherapy with 3 × 8 Gy induces systemic anti-tumour responses and abscopal tumour inhibition without modulating the humoral anti-tumour response PLoS ONE 11 e0159515 2016 27427766 PMC4948777
  2. [107]Ahmad A Introduction to Cancer Metastasis 1 Academic Press 2016

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Authors
Ngwa, W., Irabor, O. C., Schoenfeld, J. D., Hesser, J., Demaria, S., & Formenti, S. C.
Affiliations
  • Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
  • Heidelberg University (DE)
  • Weill Cornell Medicine (US)
Corresponding author
Ngwa, Wilfred
Venue
Nature Reviews Cancer
Published
2018-02-16
Volume
18
Issue
5
Pages
313-322
ISSN
  • 1474-175X (ISSN-L)
  • 1474-1768
OpenAlex
W2788208686
Cited by
1,260
References
114
Citations by year
2026: 136 · 2025: 160 · 2024: 148 · 2023: 162 · 2022: 168 · 2021: 156 · 2020: 181 · 2019: 103 · 2018: 46
FWCI
12.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature reviews. Cancer (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Cancer Institute (R21CA205094, K01CA172478)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Applications
Keywords
abscopal effect, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, combination therapy, metastatic cancer, immune tolerance, cancer immunotherapy, smart materials
MeSH terms
Animals, Combined Modality Therapy, Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic, Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation, Drug Carriers, Humans, Immunosuppression Therapy, Immunotherapy, Neoplasms, Radiotherapy, Biomarkers, Tumor, Drug Delivery Systems, Nanoparticles

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