The trial aims to evaluate the ability of NBTXR3 to generate an
abscopal effect.
Knowledge of this abscopal effect goes back for over half a century; radiation oncologists have been well aware that localized radiotherapy can on rare occasion trigger "out-of-target tumor responses" so that tumors elsewhere in the body, areas that were not treated with radiation, shrink.
A 2007 case report of this abscopal effect leading to regression in ovarian cancer, was of particular interest to us as this is the type of cancer our patient has.
The bottom line: Multiple lines of information, from case histories of spontaneous remission, to knowledge of vaccination biology, to the abscopal effect of radiation therapy, and to modern PD-L1 drug development have led us to a view that offers exciting possibilities.
Check point inhibitor drugs that are being researched to treat cancer are now being used in combination with radiation in the hope of triggering abscopal effects more reliably.
These two cases illustrate the
abscopal effect first described in 1953 by Dr.
Though the abscopal effect is extremely rare, it has been described in several cancers including melanoma, lymphoma, and kidney cancer.
Unexpectedly, other areas where the melanoma had spread (the spleen and the lymph nodes) but that were not directly targeted by the radiation therapy also benefited, consistent with the abscopal effect.
Scientists are not certain how the abscopal effect works to eliminate cancer in patients.
CancerWeb has defined an abscopal effect as "a reaction produced following irradiation but occurring outside the zone of actual radiation absorption.
The abscopal effect is admittedly rare and, in the past, was considered somewhat controversial, since it seemed to fly in the face of common sense.
What if it were possible to give cancer patients a substance that would actually make the abscopal effect a routine part of treatment?
