Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015 Dec;1(9):1325-32.
doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.2756.

Role of Local Radiation Therapy in Cancer Immunotherapy

Sandra Demaria  1 , Encouse B Golden  2 , Silvia C Formenti  2
Affiliations
Review

Role of Local Radiation Therapy in Cancer Immunotherapy

Sandra Demaria et al. JAMA Oncol. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

The recent success of cancer immunotherapy has demonstrated the power of the immune system to clear tumors, generating renewed enthusiasm for identifying ways to induce antitumor immune responses in patients. Natural antitumor immune responses are detectable in a fraction of patients across multiple malignant neoplasms and can be reactivated by targeting rate-limiting immunosuppressive mechanisms. In most patients, however, interventions to induce a de novo antitumor immune response are necessary. We review growing evidence that radiation therapy targeted to the tumor can convert it into an in situ tumor vaccine by inducing release of antigens during cancer cell death in association with proinflammatory signals that trigger the innate immune system to activate tumor-specific T cells. In addition, radiation's effects on the tumor microenvironment enhance infiltration of activated T cells and can overcome some of the barriers to tumor rejection. Thus, the complementary effects of radiation on priming and effector phases of antitumor immunity make it an appealing strategy to generate immunity against a patient's own individual tumor, that through immunological memory, can result in long-lasting systemic responses. Several anecdotal cases have demonstrated the efficacy of combining radiation with available immunotherapies, and results of prospective trials are forthcoming.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

  • Brain Metastases From Melanoma: Therapy at the Crossroads.
    Kirkpatrick JP, Laack NN, Soltys SG, Halasz LM, Breneman JC, Shih HA. Kirkpatrick JP, et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2016 Nov 15;96(4):713-716. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2016.06.005. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2016. PMID: 27788943 No abstract available.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources