Radiation Therapy and Immune Modulation

Jonathan E Leeman; Jonathan D Schoenfeld

doi:10.1016/j.hoc.2018.12.003

Radiation Therapy and Immune Modulation

Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2019 Apr;33(2):233-248. doi: 10.1016/j.hoc.2018.12.003. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Authors

Jonathan E Leeman¹, Jonathan D Schoenfeld²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
² Department of Radiation Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 450 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: jonathan_schoenfeld@dfci.harvard.edu.

PMID: 30832997
DOI: 10.1016/j.hoc.2018.12.003

Abstract

Radiotherapy has known immunomodulatory effects and there exists a strong preclinical rationale for combining radiotherapy with immunotherapies. Broadly, the concurrent administration of immunotherapies and radiotherapy does not seem to result in undue toxicity, even when radiotherapy is administered to definitive doses. Recently reported results from prospective clinical trials evaluating radiotherapy/ICB combinations, such as the PACIFIC trial, provide important information on safety and efficacy in the definitive setting and identify potential abscopal effects. This review details the preclinical foundation for the combination of radiotherapy and immunotherapies, summarizes the most recent clinical data available, and highlights active and future areas of study.

Keywords: Abscopal effect; Immune checkpoint blockade; Immunotherapy; Radiotherapy.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Clinical Trials as Topic
Humans
Immunomodulation / radiation effects*
Neoplasms / immunology*
Neoplasms / radiotherapy*
Radioimmunotherapy*