Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33013251›Full record

ReviewDose-response : a publication of International Hormesis Society

Immunomodulation Through Low-Dose Radiation for Severe COVID-19: Lessons From the Past and New Developments.

Yannic N Hanekamp, James Giordano, Jaap C Hanekamp, Mohammad K Khan, Maarten Limper, Constantijn S Venema, Samuel D Vergunst, Joost J C Verhoeff, Edward J Calabrese

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Dose-response : a publication of International Hormesis Society. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
2.9field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Radiotherapy during the COVID-19: a review about management and treatment strategies.Reports of practical oncology and radiotherapy : journal of Greatpoland Cancer Center in Poznan and Polish Society of Radiation Oncology · 2022
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Yannic N HanekampUniversity Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
James GiordanoDepartments of Neurology and Biochemistry, and Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
Jaap C HanekampUniversity College Roosevelt, Middelburg, the Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6575-3658
Mohammad K KhanDepartment of Radiation Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Maarten LimperDepartment of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Constantijn S VenemaUniversity Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Samuel D VergunstUniversity Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Joost J C VerhoeffDepartment of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Edward J CalabreseDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7659-412X
University Medical Center Groningen · NLUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst · USUtrecht University · NLEmory University · USGeorgetown University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Low-dose radiation therapy (LD-RT) has historically been a successful treatment for pneumonia and is clinically established as an immunomodulating therapy for inflammatory diseases. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has elicited renewed scientific interest in LD-RT and multiple small clinical trials have recently corroborated the historical LD-RT findings and demonstrated preliminary efficacy and immunomodulation for the treatment of severe COVID-19 pneumonia. The present review explicates archival medical research data of LD-RT and attempts to translate this into modernized evidence, relevant for the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, we explore the putative mechanisms of LD-RT immunomodulation, revealing specific downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines that are integral to the development of the COVID-19 cytokine storm induced hyperinflammatory state. Radiation exposure in LD-RT is minimal compared to radiotherapy dosing standards in oncology care and direct toxicity and long-term risk for secondary disease are expected to be low. The recent clinical trials investigating LD-RT for COVID-19 confirm initial treatment safety. Based on our findings we conclude that LD-RT could be an important treatment option for COVID-19 patients that are likely to progress to severity. We advocate the further use of LD-RT in carefully monitored experimental environments to validate its effectiveness, risks and mechanisms of LD-RT.

Indexed as

COVID-19cytokine storminflammationlow-dose radiationtreatment

Identifiers

PMID33013251
PMCPMC7513398
OpenAlexW3088754763

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.