ReviewTrends in cancer2016
Radiotherapy: Changing the Game in Immunotherapy.
Review in Trends in cancer, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 240 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Multi-center Phase I Study of Sintilimab in Combination With Radiotherapy in Treatment Naive PD-L1 Positive Stage IV Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Phase I Study of Low Dose Radiotherapy and Concurrent SBRT in Combination With PD-1 Inhibitors in Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) .
Exploratory Phase II Clinical Study of Toripalimab Plus Radiotherapy Versus Toripalimab Plus Chemotherapy for the Neoadjuvant Treatment of Operable Stage II-IIIA (N+) Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Who cites it
240 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 347 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy and safety of sequential versus concurrent administration of immune checkpoint inhibitors with radiotherapy in solid tumors: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Review of ferroptosis in colorectal cancer: Friends or foes?World journal of gastroenterology · 2023Pooled it
- Changes in T Lymphocyte Subsets in Different Tumors Before and After Radiotherapy: A Meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Pooled it
- Optimizing the Treatment Schedule of Radiotherapy Combined With Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 Immunotherapy in Metastatic Cancers.Frontiers in oncology · 2021Pooled it
- Toxicity Profile of Combining PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitors and Thoracic Radiotherapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Pooled it
- Dual Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Plus Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Rectal Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- PD-1 Inhibitor Combined With Radiotherapy and GM-CSF (PRaG) in Patients With Metastatic Solid Tumors: An Open-Label Phase II Study.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Trial
- Response and outcomes after anti-CTLA4 versus anti-PD1 combined with stereotactic body radiation therapy for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer: retrospective analysis of two single-institution prospective trials.Journal for immunotherapy of cancer · 2020Trial
- Delayed elective nodal irradiation in head-and-neck cancer radiotherapy reduces acute lymphocyte damage, lymphopenia, and modulates immune signatures.Clinical and translational radiation oncology · 2027Article
- Is there a role for immune checkpoint inhibitors in high-risk medulloblastoma beyond the salvage setting?The oncologist · 2026Article
- Review
- Intra-arterial delivery of FePt nanoparticles induces ferroptosis and immune infiltration to enhance radiotherapy.Materials today. Bio · 2026Article
- Real-world analysis in patients with limited-stage small-cell lung cancer who received durvalumab after concurrent chemoradiotherapy.Translational lung cancer research · 2026Article
- Combinatorial in situ cancer vaccines: unlocking broad and enhanced antitumor responses.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026Review
- CAR-T and TIL therapies in solid tumors: barriers, clinical lessons, and convergent solutions.Cancer cell international · 2026Review
- Complete Response of Merkel Cell Carcinoma to Immunotherapy and Single-Fraction Radiotherapy Following Severe COVID-19 Infection: A Case Report and Review of Immune Mechanism.The American surgeon · 2026Article
- Losartan Enhances Radiosensitivity by Reversing Immunosuppressive Tumor Microenvironment Induced by Radiotherapy in TNBC.Cancer science · 2026Article
- A new perspective on radiotherapy in the comprehensive treatment of cancer.Precision radiation oncology · 2026Review
- Development and validation of a nomogram for predicting overall survival in small cell lung cancer: a multicenter analysis integrating multimodal therapy and molecular pathology.Translational lung cancer research · 2026Article
180 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are effective in cancer treatment. A pre-existing immune response demonstrated by significant pretreatment tumor lymphocytic infiltration is a pre-requisite for response. Within such infiltrated tumors, referred as "hot", immune checkpoint inhibitors rescue anti-tumor T cells activity. In contrast, "cold" tumors lack lymphocytic infiltration and are refractory to immunotherapy. Preclinical data show that radiotherapy sensitizes refractory tumors to immune checkpoint inhibitors by recruiting anti-tumor T cells. Despite the growing number of clinical studies testing radiation's ability to enhance immunotherapy, clinical evidence that it converts cold tumors into responsive ones remains elusive. Here we review evidence that radiotherapy is not only an occasional enhancer of immunotherapy's effects but a "game changer", and propose a blueprint to test this.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.