Kanako Katayama, Akihiro Tamiya, Taro Koba, Shoichi Fukuda and Shinji Atagi
Introduction: The Abscopal effect refers to radiotherapy-induced tumor regression in lesions distant from a targeted site, and is a rare phenomenon in patients receiving local radiotherapy. This report is the first to describe an Abscopal response in a chemotherapy-naïve non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patient following whole-brain radiotherapy as well as palliative radiotherapy.
Case presentation: A 63-years-old man who was a current-smoker (with 86 pack years) with metastatic NSCLC underwent whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) plus boost radiotherapy to total dose of 45 Gy in 15 fractions because the metastatic brain tumor with cerebral oedema from the left temporal lobe to the occipital lobe rapidly progressed after the enucleation of the brain tumor. The patient also received palliative radiation (30 Gy in 10 fractions) for the third lumbar vertebral metastasis. The tumor in the left upper lobe of the lung and his mediastinal lymph nodes had regressed in size upon reviewing his follow-up CT results seven weeks post-radiotherapy.
Conclusion: The Abscopal effect in metastatic NSCLC patients can occur after the irradiation of metastatic lesions without chemotherapeutic or immunotherapeutic interventions.
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