BACKGROUND: The abscopal effect suggests that the impact of radiotherapy extends beyond the direct tumor local regression, due to activation of the immune response. Its effectiveness may vary depending on whether high- or low-radiation doses are used. In FLASH therapy, the high-dose rate treatment induces systemic effects that may trigger an abscopal response. METHODS: We discuss a phenomenological, computational model, based on available in vivo FLASH radiotherapy data, to quantitatively analyze the possible synergistic effects with the immune system to produce a systemic effect. RESULTS: The method enables a quantitative assessment of the interaction between FLASH radiotherapy and the activated immune response, based on observations of metastatic shrinkage due to the FLASH treatment of the primary tumor.

• Klíčová slova
• FLASH radio-therapy immunotherapy, Gompertz law, abscopal effect, mathematical modeling, radiotherapy,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

INTRODUCTION: While radiotherapy has long been recognized for its ability to directly ablate cancer cells through necrosis or apoptosis, radiotherapy-induced abscopal effect suggests that its impact extends beyond local tumor destruction thanks to immune response. Cellular proliferation and necrosis have been extensively studied using mathematical models that simulate tumor growth, such as Gompertz law, and the radiation effects, such as the linear-quadratic model. However, the effectiveness of radiotherapy-induced immune responses may vary among patients due to individual differences in radiation sensitivity and other factors. METHODS: We present a novel macroscopic approach designed to quantitatively analyze the intricate dynamics governing the interactions among the immune system, radiotherapy, and tumor progression. Building upon previous research demonstrating the synergistic effects of radiotherapy and immunotherapy in cancer treatment, we provide a comprehensive mathematical framework for understanding the underlying mechanisms driving these interactions. RESULTS: Our method leverages macroscopic observations and mathematical modeling to capture the overarching dynamics of this interplay, offering valuable insights for optimizing cancer treatment strategies. One shows that Gompertz law can describe therapy effects with two effective parameters. This result permits quantitative data analyses, which give useful indications for the disease progression and clinical decisions. DISCUSSION: Through validation against diverse data sets from the literature, we demonstrate the reliability and versatility of our approach in predicting the time evolution of the disease and assessing the potential efficacy of radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations. This further supports the promising potential of the abscopal effect, suggesting that in select cases, depending on tumor size, it may confer full efficacy to radiotherapy.

• Klíčová slova
• Gompertz law, abscopal effect, immune response, immunotherapy, mathematical modeling, radiotherapy,
• MeSH
• imunoterapie * metody   MeSH
• kombinovaná terapie MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nádory * terapie   imunologie   radioterapie   MeSH
• radioterapie metody   MeSH
• teoretické modely MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH