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CASE REPORT article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1475129
This article is part of the Research Topic The Immune Infiltrate as a Paradigm Model to Study the Biology and Novel Therapeutic Approaches in Sarcomas, volume II View all 4 articles

Abscopal Effect-Induced Spontaneous Regression of Distant Metastases in Malignant Mesenchymal Tumor: A Case Report

Provisionally accepted
Meltem Kirli Bolukbas Meltem Kirli Bolukbas 1,2*Cemile Ozdemir Cemile Ozdemir 3Esengul Kocak Uzel Esengul Kocak Uzel 2
  • 1 Bakırköy Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye
  • 2 Health Sciences University Bakirkoy Dr. Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology,, Istanbul, Türkiye
  • 3 Bahcelievler Public Hospital, Department of Pathology, Istanbul, Türkiye

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The abscopal effect refers to an anti-tumor response that occurs in areas where radiation therapy (RT) has not been directly administered, triggered by the immune system. We presented a case of an undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma with three relapses, which showed a complete response after distant metastatic disease. The tumor was initially detected in the left pectoral muscle. Fifteen months after adjuvant RT and chemotherapy, a nearby recurrent lesion was surgically removed. Another 15 months later, a second recurrence appeared on the left-lateral chest wall. The patient underwent a third surgery and received adjuvant radiation, but distant metastases were discovered six months later. Shortly after a biopsy confirmed distant metastasis, all metastatic foci went into spontaneous remission. This phenomenon is identified as the abscopal effect. The patient experienced no metastasis or local recurrences during follow-up and showed a complete response to the abscopal effect for 36 months. The abscopal effect in malignant mesenchymal tumors is extremely rare.

    Keywords: Malign mesenchymal tumor, abscopal effect, case report, metastatic disease, Radiotherapy

    Received: 02 Aug 2024; Accepted: 06 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kirli Bolukbas, Ozdemir and Kocak Uzel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Meltem Kirli Bolukbas, Bakırköy Sadi Konuk Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Türkiye

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