[Imaging in immunotherapy for tumor diseases]

Oliver Sedlaczek1,2

  • 1Abteilung Radiologie - E010, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (DKFZ), Forschungsschwerpunkt Bildgebung und Radioonkologie, Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120, Heidelberg, Deutschland. o.sedlaczek@dkfz-heidelberg.de.

PubMed

Immunotherapeutic agents and in particular immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have opened up extensive new therapeutic possibilities in oncology over the last decade. For numerous entities these substances have improved the clinical outcome, sometimes as monotherapy but also in combination with cytostatic or targeted treatment. In routine clinical practice the type of radiological response often differs from what is seen under cytostatic treatment: a mixed response of individual lesions is more frequently observed and occasionally also a response after an initial progress (so-called pseudoprogression). Furthermore, there is a diverse spectrum of toxicity in the form of immune-related adverse events (irAE), which is observed in large temporal variability to the application. Therefore, early detection and rapid side effect management are essential.

Related Concept Videos