Abscopal effect in a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma treated with palliative radiotherapy and pembrolizumab

Abstract

The abscopal effect describes the ability of locally administered radiotherapy to induce systemic antitumor effects. Although mentioned for the first time in the 1950s, records of abscopal effects, considered to be immune-mediated, are scarce with radiotherapy alone. However, with the continued development and use of immunotherapy, reports on the abscopal effect have become increasingly frequent during the last decade. Here, we report a patient with advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma who had progressive disease while on the anti-PDL1 inhibitor pembrolizumab and showed an abscopal response after palliative radiotherapy.

Keywords

• Abscopal effect
• Malignant pleural mesothelioma
• Radiotherapy
• Immunotherapy
• Checkpoint inhibitors