title: Building immunity to cancer with radiation therapy.
abstract: Over the last decade there has been a dramatic shift in the focus of cancer research toward understanding how the body's immune defenses can be harnessed to promote the effectiveness of cytotoxic anti-cancer therapies. The ability of ionizing radiation to elicit anti-cancer immune responses capable of controlling tumor growth has led to the emergence of promising combination-based radio-immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer. Herein we review the immunoadjuvant properties of localized radiation therapy and discuss how technological advances in radio-oncology and developments in the field of tumor-immunotherapy have started to revolutionize the therapeutic application of radiotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Therapeutics Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
authors.forename: Suresh J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Haikerwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Sciences, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hagekyriakou
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: MacManus
authors.affiliation: Division of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Imaging, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, Australia; Molecular Radiation Biology Laboratory, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia.
authors.forename: Olga A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Cancer Therapeutics Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Vic, Australia; Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, Australia. Electronic address: nicole.haynes@petermac.org.
authors.forename: Nicole M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Haynes
mesh_terms: D016923:Cell Death / Q000276:immunology / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000379:methods
keywords: Anti-tumor immunity; Cancer; Immunogenic cell death; Immunotherapy; Ionizing radiation; Radiotherapy