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Cho YB, Yoon N, Suh JH, Scott JG. Radio-immune response modelling for spatially fractionated radiotherapy. Phys Med Biol 2023; 68:165010. [PMID: 37459862 PMCID: PMC10409909 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6560/ace819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Objective.Radiation-induced cell death is a complex process influenced by physical, chemical and biological phenomena. Although consensus on the nature and the mechanism of the bystander effect were not yet made, the immune process presumably plays an important role in many aspects of the radiotherapy including the bystander effect. A mathematical model of immune response during and after radiation therapy is presented.Approach.Immune response of host body and immune suppression of tumor cells are modelled with four compartments in this study; viable tumor cells, T cell lymphocytes, immune triggering cells, and doomed cells. The growth of tumor was analyzed in two distinctive modes of tumor status (immune limited and immune escape) and its bifurcation condition.Main results.Tumors in the immune limited mode can grow only up to a finite size, named as terminal tumor volume analytically calculated from the model. The dynamics of the tumor growth in the immune escape mode is much more complex than the tumors in the immune limited mode especially when the status of tumor is close to the bifurcation condition. Radiation can kill tumor cells not only by radiation damage but also by boosting immune reaction.Significance.The model demonstrated that the highly heterogeneous dose distribution in spatially fractionated radiotherapy (SFRT) can make a drastic difference in tumor cell killing compared to the homogeneous dose distribution. SFRT cannot only enhance but also moderate the cell killing depending on the immune response triggered by many factors such as dose prescription parameters, tumor volume at the time of treatment and tumor characteristics. The model was applied to the lifted data of 67NR tumors on mice and a sarcoma patient treated multiple times over 1200 days for the treatment of tumor recurrence as a demonstration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young-Bin Cho
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, United States of America
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States of America
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States of America
| | - Nara Yoon
- Departmentof Mathematics and Computer Science, Adelphi University, New York, United States of America
| | - John H Suh
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, United States of America
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States of America
| | - Jacob G Scott
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, United States of America
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States of America
- Department of Translational Hematology and Oncology Research, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States of America
- Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, United States of America
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Xu J, He J, He J, He Y, Zhang D, Kong R, Dan K. The abscopal effect of anti-CD95 and radiotherapy in melanoma. Discov Oncol 2023; 14:68. [PMID: 37191832 DOI: 10.1007/s12672-023-00682-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Radiotherapy (RT) is frequently adopted to control cancer cell proliferation, which is achieved by altering the tumor microenvironment (TME) and immunogenicity. Apoptosis of cancer cells is the major effect of radiation on tumor tissues. Fas/APO-1(CD95) receptors on the cell membrane are death receptors that can be activated by diverse factors, including radiation and integration with CD95L on CD8+ T cells. The abscopal effect is defined as tumor regression out of the local RT field, and it is produced through anti-tumor immunity. The immune response against the radiated tumor is characterized by the cross-presentation between antigen-presenting cells (APCs), which includes cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) and dendritic cells (DCs). METHODS The effect of activation and radiation of CD95 receptors on melanoma cell lines was examined in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, bilateral lower limbs were given a subcutaneous injection of a dual-tumor. Tumors in the right limb were radiated with a single dose of 10 Gy (primary tumor), while tumors in the left limb (secondary tumor) were spared. RESULTS The anti-CD95 treatment plus radiation (combination treatment) reduced growth rates of both primary and secondary tumors relative to the control or radiation groups. In addition, higher degrees of infiltrating CTLs and DCs were detected in the combination treatment compared to the other groups, but the immune response responsible for secondary tumor rejection was not proven to be tumor specific. In vitro, combination treatment combined with radiation resulted in further apoptosis of melanoma cells relative to controls or cells treated with radiation. CONCLUSIONS Targeting CD95 on cancer cells will induce tumor control and the abscopal effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jixiang Xu
- Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Zhongshan 319, Luzhou, 646000, China
| | - JiangFeng He
- Nursing Department, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Zhongshan 319, Luzhou, 646000, China
| | - JiaJun He
- Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Zhongshan 319, Luzhou, 646000, China
| | - Yuanmin He
- Department of Dermatology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Zhongshan 319, Luzhou, 646000, China
| | - DaoJun Zhang
- Department of Dermatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of ChongQing Medical University, ShuangHuZhiLu 1, Chongqing, 401120, China
| | - Rui Kong
- Department of Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of ChongQing Medical University, ShuangHuZhiLu 1, Chongqing, 401120, China
| | - Kena Dan
- Department of Dermatology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of ChongQing Medical University, ShuangHuZhiLu 1, Chongqing, 401120, China.
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Cho YB, Yoon N, Suh JH, Jacob SG. Radio-Immune Response Modelling for Spatially Fractionated Radiotherapy. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.28.538767. [PMID: 37162885 PMCID: PMC10168368 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.28.538767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Radiation-induced cell death is a complex process influenced by physical, chemical and biological phenomena. Strong dose gradient may intensify the complexity and reportedly creates significantly more cell death known as bystander effect. Although consensus on the nature and the mechanism of the bystander effect were not yet made, the immune process presumably plays an important role in many aspects of the radiotherapy including the bystander effect. Immune response of host body and immune suppression of tumor cells are modelled with four compartments in this study; viable tumor cells, T cell lymphocytes, immune triggering cells, and doomed cells. The growth of tumor was analyzed in two distinctive modes of tumor status (immune limited and immune escape) and its bifurcation condition. Tumors in the immune limited mode can grow only up to a finite size, named as terminal tumor volume analytically calculated from the model. The dynamics of the tumor growth in the immune escape mode is much more complex than the tumors in the immune limited mode especially when the status of tumor is close to the bifurcation condition. Radiation can kill tumor cells not only by radiation damage but also by boosting immune reaction. The model demonstrated that the highly heterogeneous dose distribution in spatially fractionated radiotherapy (SFRT) can make a drastic difference in tumor cell killing compared to the homogeneous dose distribution. SFRT can not only enhance but also moderate the cell killing depending on the immune response triggered by many factors such as dose prescription parameters, tumor volume at the time of treatment and tumor characteristics. The model was applied to the lifted data of 67NR tumors on mice and a sarcoma patient treated multiple times over 1200 days for the treatment of tumor recurrence as a demonstration.
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Link B, Torres Crigna A, Hölzel M, Giordano FA, Golubnitschaja O. Abscopal Effects in Metastatic Cancer: Is a Predictive Approach Possible to Improve Individual Outcomes? J Clin Med 2021; 10:5124. [PMID: 34768644 PMCID: PMC8584726 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10215124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with metastatic cancers often require radiotherapy (RT) as a palliative therapy for cancer pain. RT can, however, also induce systemic antitumor effects outside of the irradiated field (abscopal effects) in various cancer entities. The occurrence of the abscopal effect is associated with a specific immunological activation in response to RT-induced cell death, which is mainly seen under concomitant immune checkpoint blockade. Even if the number of reported apscopal effects has increased since the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibition, its occurrence is still considered rare and unpredictable. The cases reported so far may nevertheless allow for identifying first biomarkers and clinical patterns. We here review biomarkers that may be helpful to predict the occurrence of abscopal effects and hence to optimize therapy for patients with metastatic cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Link
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (B.L.); (A.T.C.); (F.A.G.)
| | - Adriana Torres Crigna
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (B.L.); (A.T.C.); (F.A.G.)
| | - Michael Hölzel
- Institute of Experimental Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany;
| | - Frank A. Giordano
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany; (B.L.); (A.T.C.); (F.A.G.)
| | - Olga Golubnitschaja
- Predictive, Preventive, Personalised (3P) Medicine, Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, 53127 Bonn, Germany
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Shan Z, Wang H, Zhang Y, Min W. The Role of Tumor-Derived Exosomes in the Abscopal Effect and Immunotherapy. Life (Basel) 2021; 11:life11050381. [PMID: 33922480 PMCID: PMC8145657 DOI: 10.3390/life11050381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Revised: 04/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Exosomes are microvesicles that can be secreted by various cells and carry a variety of contents; thus, they play multiple biological functions. For instance, the tumor-derived exosomes (TEXs) have been proven to have the effect of immunostimulatory in addition to immunosuppression, making TEXs attractive in clinical immunotherapy and targeted therapy for cancer patients. In addition, TEXs as biomarkers have important clinical diagnostic and prognostic value. Recently, TEXs have been recognized to play important roles in the abscopal effect (AbE), a newly discovered mechanism by which the distant tumors are effectively targeted and repressed during immunotherapy and radiotherapy. Therefore, TEXs has demonstrated great clinical potential in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of cancer patients in the future. This review summarizes and discusses the role of TEXs in clinical therapy and their role in AbE in recent studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zechen Shan
- Academy of Queen Mary, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, China; (Z.S.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Hongmei Wang
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, China
- Correspondence: (H.W.); (W.M.)
| | - Yujuan Zhang
- Academy of Queen Mary, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, China; (Z.S.); (Y.Z.)
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, China
| | - Weiping Min
- Academy of Queen Mary, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, China; (Z.S.); (Y.Z.)
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330000, China
- Department of Surgery, Pathology and Oncology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5A5, Canada
- Correspondence: (H.W.); (W.M.)
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Frąk M, Krawczyk P, Kalinka E, Milanowski J. Molecular and Clinical Premises for the Combination Therapy Consisting of Radiochemotherapy and Immunotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:1222. [PMID: 33799560 PMCID: PMC8000833 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13061222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Revised: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common malignancies around the world. Due to the advanced stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis, most patients require systemic treatment. Immunotherapy with immune checkpoints inhibitors is becoming the main treatment method for many cancers, including NSCLC. Numerous studies have shown greater efficacy of immunotherapy used monoclonal antibodies anti-PD-1 (pembrolizumab and nivolumab) or anti-PD-L1 (atezolizumab and durvalumab) compared to chemotherapy. Unfortunately, cancer cells can develop a number of mechanisms to escape from immune surveillance, including avoidance of cancer cells by the immune system (immune desert), production of immunosuppressive compounds (prostaglandins, IDO, TGF-beta), or direct immune checkpoints interactions. Therapy based on the use of radiochemotherapy with subsequent immunotherapy is becoming the main focus of research in the field of new NSCLC therapies. Radiation therapy stimulates the immune response multidirectionally, affects production of neoantigens and proinflammatory compounds, which transform non-immunogenic ("cold") tumors into highly immunogenic ("hot") tumors. As a result, the mechanisms of escape of cancer cells from immune surveillance break down and the effectiveness of immunotherapy increases significantly. The results of clinical trials in this area bring new hope and indicate greater effectiveness of such treatment in terms of prolongation of progression-free survival and overall survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Małgorzata Frąk
- Chair and Department of Pneumology, Oncology and Allergology, Medical University of Lublin, 20-954 Lublin, Poland; (P.K.); (J.M.)
| | - Paweł Krawczyk
- Chair and Department of Pneumology, Oncology and Allergology, Medical University of Lublin, 20-954 Lublin, Poland; (P.K.); (J.M.)
| | - Ewa Kalinka
- Department of Oncology, Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital Research Institute in Lodz, 93-338 Lodz, Poland;
| | - Janusz Milanowski
- Chair and Department of Pneumology, Oncology and Allergology, Medical University of Lublin, 20-954 Lublin, Poland; (P.K.); (J.M.)
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Vaiserman A, Cuttler JM, Socol Y. Low-dose ionizing radiation as a hormetin: experimental observations and therapeutic perspective for age-related disorders. Biogerontology 2021; 22:145-164. [PMID: 33420860 PMCID: PMC7794644 DOI: 10.1007/s10522-020-09908-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Hormesis is any kind of biphasic dose-response when low doses of some agents are beneficial while higher doses are detrimental. Radiation hormesis is the most thoroughly investigated among all hormesis-like phenomena, in particular in biogerontology. In this review, we aimed to summarize research evidence supporting hormesis through exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR). Radiation-induced longevity hormesis has been repeatedly reported in invertebrate models such as C. elegans, Drosophila and flour beetles and in vertebrate models including guinea pigs, mice and rabbits. On the contrary, suppressing natural background radiation was repeatedly found to cause detrimental effects in protozoa, bacteria and flies. We also discussed here the possibility of clinical use of LDIR, predominantly for age-related disorders, e.g., Alzheimer's disease, for which no remedies are available. There is accumulating evidence that LDIR, such as those commonly used in X-ray imaging including computer tomography, might act as a hormetin. Of course, caution should be exercised when introducing new medical practices, and LDIR therapy is no exception. However, due to the low average residual life expectancy in old patients, the short-term benefits of such interventions (e.g., potential therapeutic effect against dementia) may outweigh their hypothetical delayed risks (e.g., cancer). We argue here that assessment and clinical trials of LDIR treatments should be given priority bearing in mind the enormous economic, social and ethical implications of potentially-treatable, age-related disorders.
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Immunostimulatory Effects of Radiotherapy for Local and Systemic Control of Melanoma: A Review. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21239324. [PMID: 33297519 PMCID: PMC7730562 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21239324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, modern therapies involving immune checkpoint inhibitors, cytokines, and oncolytic virus have been developed. Because of the limited treatment effect of modern therapy alone, the immunostimulatory effect of radiotherapy attracted increasing attention. The combined use of radiotherapy and modern therapy has been examined clinically and non-clinically, and its effectiveness has been confirmed recently. Because melanomas have high immunogenicity, better therapeutic outcomes are desired when using immunotherapy. However, sufficient therapeutic effects have not yet been achieved. Thus far, radiotherapy has been used only for local control of tumors. Although extremely rare, radiotherapy has also been reported for systemic control, i.e., abscopal effect. This is thought to be due to an antitumor immune response. Therefore, we herein summarize past information on not only the mechanism of immune effects on radiotherapy but also biomarkers reported in case reports on abscopal effects. We also reviewed the animal model suitable for evaluating abscopal effects. These results pave the way for further basic research or clinical studies on new treatment methods for melanoma. Currently, palliative radiation is administered to patients with metastatic melanoma for local control. If it is feasible to provide both systemic and local control, the treatment benefit for the patients is very large.
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Radiotherapy-Mediated Immunomodulation and Anti-Tumor Abscopal Effect Combining Immune Checkpoint Blockade. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12102762. [PMID: 32992835 PMCID: PMC7600068 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12102762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2020] [Revised: 09/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Radiotherapy (RT) is a conventional method for clinical treatment of local tumors, which can induce tumor-specific immune response and cause the shrinkage of primary tumor and distal metastases via mediating tumor infiltration of CD8+ T cells. Ionizing radiation (IR) induced tumor regression outside the radiation field is termed as abscopal effect. However, due to the mobilization of immunosuppressive signals by IR, the activated CD8+T cells are not sufficient to maintain a long-term positive feedback to make the tumors regress completely. Eventually, the "hot" tumors gradually turn to "cold". With the advent of emerging immunotherapy, the combination of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and local RT has produced welcome changes in stubborn metastases, especially anti-PD-1/PD-L1 and anti-CTLA-4 which have been approved in clinical cancer treatment. However, the detailed mechanism of the abscopal effect induced by combined therapy is still unclear. Therefore, how to formulate a therapeutic schedule to maximize the efficacy should be took into consideration according to specific circumstance. This paper reviewed the recent research progresses in immunomodulatory effects of local radiotherapy on the tumor microenvironment, as well as the unique advantage for abscopal effect when combined with ICB, with a view to exploring the potential application value of radioimmunotherapy in clinic.
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