Irradiation immunity interactions

Abstract

The immune system can influence cancer development by both impeding and/ or facilitating tumour growth and spread. A better understanding of this complex relationship is fundamental to optimise current and future cancer therapeutic strategies. Although typically regarded as a localised and immunosuppressive anti-cancer treatment modality, radiation therapy has been associated with generating profound systemic effects beyond the intended target volume. These systemic effects are immune-driven suggesting radiation therapy can enhance anti-tumour immunosurveillance in some instances. In this review, we summarise how radiation therapy can positively and negatively affect local and systemic anti-tumour immune responses, how co-administration of immunotherapy with radiation therapy may help promote anti-tumour immunity, and how the use of immune biomarkers may help steer radiation therapy-immunotherapy personalisation to optimise clinical outcomes.

Identifying cancer-associated leukocyte profiles using high-resolution flow cytometry screening and machine learning

“…In line with our observations, there have been several studies examining the standard full blood counts (FBC) for cancer-specific alterations (46,53). These studies reported correlations between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratios with the cancer treatment outcomes (46,53).…”

“…In line with our observations, there have been several studies examining the standard full blood counts (FBC) for cancer-specific alterations (46,53). These studies reported correlations between the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratios with the cancer treatment outcomes (46,53). While the standard clinical FBC are currently available for disease outcome prediction in ML models, they might not account for the phenotypic alterations involved in many of the potential leukocyte changes.…”

“…Firstly, it can be easily adapted for use in clinical practice as it focuses on the systemic leukocyte changes from a single draw of blood. Collection of a serum biomarker is less invasive and more cost-effective than a tissue biopsy, suitable for longitudinal monitoring of the disease trajectory, and harbors a wealth of information for biomarker discovery (46)(47)(48). Secondly, our screen has utilized fluorescent barcoding to differentiate between the diseased and non-diseased control group samples that are pooled together (19)(20)(21)(22), which reduces the inter-sample labeling error rate and acquisition variability.…”

Immunotherapy, radiation oncology and radiology: An alliance into the future

“…Our hope is that this Special Issue will be helpful to radiation oncologists by presenting a comprehensive and accessible survey of the underlying principles, current data, and emerging strategies in cancer immunotherapy, with a focus on avenues that radiation therapy can play an important role in. We start with a refresher on the basic concepts in cancer immunology, followed by a review of the immune‐modulatory consequences of radiation therapy and their mechanisms of synergy with immunotherapy 3,4 . The current landscape of clinical evidence for combining radiation therapy with immunotherapy in the extracranial setting is also reviewed.…”