Abscopal effect of focused ultrasound combined immunotherapy in animal solid tumor model: a systematic reviews and meta-analysis

Front Immunol. 2024 Dec 13:15:1474343. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1474343. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Introduction: The abscopal effect, a systemic anti-tumor response triggered by localized treatment, has gained attention but remains poorly understood. This study evaluates the efficacy and consistency of focused ultrasound (FUS) combined with immunotherapy in inducing the abscopal effect.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted on preclinical studies using solid tumor models. Data on tumor response, immune modulation, and survival outcomes were analyzed to assess the combination therapy's effectiveness.

Results: FUS combined with immunotherapy enhanced anti-tumor responses at local and distant sites, with evidence of immune activation and increased abscopal effect rates. However, heterogeneity across tumor models and protocols was observed.

Discussion: The findings provide a theoretical basis for FUS-immunotherapy combinations in cancer treatment, while emphasizing the need for standardized protocols and further research to elucidate underlying mechanisms.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023460710.

Keywords: abscopal effect; focused ultrasound; immunotherapy; meta-analysis; systematic review.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Combined Modality Therapy
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy* / methods
  • Neoplasms* / immunology
  • Neoplasms* / therapy
  • Ultrasonic Therapy / methods

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering (Grant No. 2021KFKT028); Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (Grant No. 2023JJ60377,2022JJ80031); Xiangtan city Science and Technology Bureau guiding science and technology program project(ZP-ZDJH2022006); Xiangtan City medical research program(2022-xtyx-16). The funding bodies reviewed the design of the study. The funder had no role in data collection, data analysis, data interpretation or writing the manuscript.