The Abscopal Effect Exists in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

The case of a 62-year-old woman who presented with stage IV adenocarcinoma of the left lung and a large left adrenal metastasis is presented. Following local radiation therapy to the left lung and nivolumab, she is now disease free 4.5 years from the time of the diagnosis. Five additional cases that have been reported are reviewed. The abscopal effect exists in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and has been reported with local radiation therapy alone as well as local radiation followed by either nivolumab or ipilimumab. Future randomized studies should address the synergist effects of local radiation therapy and the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitors versus the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors alone.