Risk of on-treatment lymphopenia is associated with treatment outcome and efficacy of consolidation immunotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy

The immune system plays a critical role in cancer development. The circulating lymphocyte count has been shown to be an important prognostic marker for survival outcomes in various types of cancer, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) [1,2]. A previous study reported that lung, heart, and whole body doses were associated with treatment-related lymphopenia during radiotherapy (RT), although the exact mechanism is unclear [2]. One possible theory may be that a large volume of low-dose radiation kills a vast number of circulating lymphocytes [2].
Source: Radiotherapy and Oncology - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research