Safety evaluation of nivolumab added concurrently to radiotherapy in a standard first line chemo-radiotherapy regimen in stage III non-small cell lung cancer - the ETOP NICOLAS trial

Clinical efficacy of ionizing radiation is usually attributed to induced DNA damage, resulting in direct tumour cell death. The existence of radiation-induced immune mechanisms of tumour control have been described in preclinical models [1]. In the clinical setting, it has been postulated that local radiotherapy could promote local and systemic anti-cancer immune response inducing a phenomenon called “immunogenic cell death” amongst other mechanisms and suggesting that mobilization of antitumour immunity might be a determinant of the overall clinical efficacy of RT on targeted and distant tumours [2].
Source: Lung Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research