Abscopal antitumor effect in a patient with melanoma and coronavirus disease 2019

Abscopal effect with fever of unknown cause during radiotherapy: Two case reports and review of the literature

The abscopal effect is a rare phenomenon that is defined as regression of tumor lesions distant from irradiation targets. At our department, two cases with an abscopal effect with fever of unknown cause (FUC) and an inflammatory response during radiotherapy were encountered. Radiotherapy is a local treatment; therefore, it rarely causes systemic side effects during radiotherapy, and if a patient develops a fever during radiotherapy, it is frequently considered tumor fever. We experienced 2 cases of FUC during irradiation followed by abscopal effect. The obvious relationship between the abscopal effect and the fever remains to be clarified. However, FUC during radiotherapy may be a hint to the abscopal effect, considering that immune response and cytokines are closely related to the abscopal effect.

Abscopal effect observed in visceral and osseous metastases after liver SBRT in combination with nivolumab and relatlimab for sinonasal mucosal melanoma-a case report

Background

Primary sinonasal mucosal melanoma (SNMM) is a rare, aggressive histology usually diagnosed at advanced stages and associated with poor prognosis. Evidence regarding etiology, diagnosis, and treatment mainly derives from case reports, retrospective series, and national databases. In the treatment of metastatic melanoma, anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade increased 5-year overall survival from ~10% (prior to 2011) to ~50% (between 2011 and 2016). In March of 2022, the FDA approved the use of relatlimab, a novel anti-LAG3 immune checkpoint inhibitor, for the treatment of melanoma.

Case presentation

A 67-year-old woman with locally advanced SNMM underwent debulking surgery, adjuvant RT, and first-line immunotherapy (ImT) with nivolumab but developed local progression. The patient started a second course of ImT with nivolumab and ipilimumab, but this was discontinued after two cycles due to an immune-related adverse event (irAE, hepatitis with elevated liver enzymes). Interval imaging identified visceral and osseous metastases including multiple lesions in the liver and in the lumbar spine. She went on to receive a third course of ImT with nivolumab and the novel agent relatlimab with concurrent stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to the largest liver tumor only, delivered in five 10-Gy fractions using MRI guidance. A PET/CT performed 3 months after SBRT demonstrated complete metabolic response (CMR) of all disease sites including non-irradiated liver lesions and spinal metastatic sites. After two cycles of the third course of ImT, the patient developed severe immune-related keratoconjunctivitis and ImT was discontinued.

Conclusion

This case report describes the first complete abscopal response (AR) in an SNMM histology and the first report of AR following liver SBRT with the use of relatlimab/nivolumab combination ImT for metastatic melanoma in the setting of both visceral and osseous lesions. This report suggests that the combination of SBRT with ImT potentiates the adaptive immune response and is a viable path for immune-mediated tumor rejection. The mechanisms behind this response are hypothesis-generating and remain an area of active research with exceedingly promising potential.

On target methods to induce abscopal phenomenon for Off‐Target effects: From happenstance to happenings

Although the "abscopal phenomenon" has been described several decades ago, this phenomenon lately has been obtaining momentous traction with the dawn of immune-based therapies. There has been increased cross talk among radiation oncologists, oncologists and immunologists and consequently a surge in the number of prospective clinical trials. This must be coupled with translation work from these clinical trials to aid in eventual identification of patients who may benefit. Abscopal effects may be induced by local and systemic methods, conventional radiotherapy, particle radiation, radionucleotide methods, cryoablation and brachytherapy. These approaches have all been reported to be stimulate abscopal effect. Immune induction by immune checkpoint therapy, immune adjuvants, cellular therapy including CAR and NK cell therapies may generate systemic abscopal response. With increasing recognition of this effect, there remains a lot of work to explore the modalities of inducing abscopal responses and ultimate prediction or prognostication on stratifying who may benefit. Ultimately, there is an urgent need for prospective studies and data to tease apart which one of these modalities can be applied to the appropriate candidate, to the appropriate cancer at the appropriate setting. This review seeks to elucidate readers on the different modalities of radiation, systemic therapies and other techniques rarely explored to potentiate the abscopal effect from a mere coincidence to a finite occurrence.

Covid-19 and radiotherapy: a systematic review after 2 years of pandemic

Introduction

Following the Covid-19 pandemic spread, changes in clinical practice were necessary to limit the pandemic diffusion. Also, oncological practice has undergone changes with radiotherapy (RT) treatments playing a key role.Although several experiences have been published, the aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence after 2 years of pandemic to provide useful conclusions for clinicians.

Methods

A Pubmed/MEDLINE and Embase systematic review was conducted. The search strategy was "Covid AND Radiotherapy" and only original articles in the English language were considered.

Results

A total of 2.733 papers were obtained using the mentioned search strategy. After the complete selection process, a total of 281 papers were considered eligible for the analysis of the results.

Discussion

RT has played a key role in Covid-19 pandemic as it has proved more resilient than surgery and chemotherapy. The impact of the accelerated use of hypofractionated RT and telemedicine will make these strategies central also in the post-pandemic period.

Renal cell carcinoma and viral infections: A dangerous relationship?

Virus-related cancers in humans are widely recognized, but in the case of renal cancer, the link with the world of viruses is not clearly established in humans, despite being known in animal biology. In the present review, we aimed to explore the literature on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) for a possible role of viruses in human RCC tumorigenesis and immune homeostasis, hypothesizing the contribution of viruses to the immunogenicity of this tumor. A scientific literature search was conducted using the PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases with the keywords “virus” or “viruses” or “viral infection” matched with (“AND”) “renal cell carcinoma” or “kidney cancer” or “renal cancer” or “renal carcinoma” or “renal tumor” or “RCC”. The retrieved findings evidenced two main aspects testifying to the relationship between RCC and viruses: The presence of viruses within the tumor, especially in non-clear cell RCC cases, and RCC occurrence in cases with pre-existing chronic viral infections. Some retrieved translational and clinical data suggest the possible contribution of viruses, particularly Epstein-Barr virus, to the marked immunogenicity of sarcomatoid RCC. In addition, it was revealed the possible role of endogenous retrovirus reactivation in RCC oncogenesis, introducing new fascinating hypotheses about this tumor’s immunogenicity and likeliness of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Complete response in a frail patient with high-grade B-cell lymphoma to only one cycle of R-CHOP or to prolonged COVID-19?

Background

COVID-19 infection increases mortality in hematological malignancies. In a large meta-analysis, patients aged 60 years and older had a significantly higher risk of death than patients under 60 years of age [1]. Furthermore, a high risk of death and reduced survival in patients receiving B cell depletion therapy with prolonged COVID-19 infection was reported in a recent study [2]. High-grade B-cell lymphomas are classified as morphologically aggressive lymphomas with the presence of a high mitotic index and Ki-67 proliferation rates. They demonstrate aggressive behavior clinically as well as morphologically, and COVID-19 infection is an important factor that increases mortality in these patients. Herein, we present an elderly patient with a diagnosis of high-grade B-cell lymphoma, in whom a complete response was observed after prolonged COVID-19 infection.

Case summary

An 81-year-old female patient received her first cycle of R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisolone) treatment after being diagnosed with high- grade B-cell lymphoma. After being discharged from the hospital, the patient was referred to the emergency department with complaints of fever and fatigue when she came for the second cycle of chemotherapy. Her COVID-19 PCR test was found positive. She was admitted to the infectious diseases service and favipiravir treatment was started. On the 24th day of hospitalization, it was decided to perform interim FDG-PET/CT (Fluorodeoxyglucose - Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) scan at a time that her PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test was still positive. A complete metabolic response was detected in her imaging. On the 26th day, the PCR test became negative and the patient was transferred to the oncology service and received the second cycle of R-CHOP treatment.

Conclusion

Our case emphasizes that antitumor effect could be seen in a patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection and a hematologic malignancy. It also highlights being alert to prolonged COVID-19 infection in patients receiving B-cell depletion therapy.

Abscopal Effects in Metastatic Cancer: Is a Predictive Approach Possible to Improve Individual Outcomes?

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.