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Updated: Dec 7, 2025
Dynamic Lung Tumor Tracking for Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiation Therapy
Published on: June 7, 2015
Abscopal effect in pulmonary carcinoid tumor following ablative stereotactic body radiation therapy: a case report
Samuel A Kareff1, Jonathan W Lischalk2, Rebecca Krochmal3
1Department of Graduate Medical Education, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, 3800 Reservoir Road NW, Washington, DC, 20007, USA.
Background:
The abscopal effect was described as early as the 1950s, when untreated tumors demonstrated a response after radiation therapy was delivered to an untreated, distant site. The mechanisms underlying this global response to otherwise localized therapy remain unknown, though there is increasing evidence that increased antigen expression following ablative radiotherapy may play a role.
Case Presentation:
We report a case of a 69-year-old African American woman with a history of metastatic typical pulmonary carcinoid with multiple lung nodules who had a significant decrease in size of an untreated left upper lobe nodule after stereotactic body radiation therapy to an oligoprogressive left lower lobe lesion.
Conclusions:
To our knowledge, this report describes the first case of an abscopal effect in a typical pulmonary carcinoid. Further research is needed regarding the mechanisms responsible for this finding and the role of combining radiation therapy and cancer immunotherapy in patients with pulmonary carcinoid tumors.
