Previously, the abscopal effect, which is an antitumor therapeutic effect on untreated tumor locations elsewhere in the body as a result of treatment of the targeted region, was rarely reported, and its mechanism remains unknown. Increasing evidence has shown that the immune system is implicated in the abscopal effect, and that combining immunotherapy and radiation can assist to improve its frequency. Understanding how different types of cells and cell‑derived exosomes cause the abscopal effect in the tumor microenvironment (TME) is crucial to increasing the clinical occurrence of the abscopal effect in the TME.
Keywords: abscopal effect; exosomes; immunotherapy; radiotherapy.