AACR 2022 | Expanding the functions of radiation therapy

Benjamin Cooper, MD, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, reflects on the growing number of indications for radiation therapy. Rather than being solely considered either curative or palliative, radiation is now being used effectively in oligometastatic and oligoprogressive disease. Dr Cooper has recently worked on a Phase i study (NCT04879849) of TAK-676 with pembrolizumab and radiation therapy where the three treatments work in concert to overcome immune checkpoint inhibition resistance through restimulation of the immune system. It is thought that this combination therapy generates neo-antigens so that the immune system can recognize cancer cells as non-self and could generate systemic benefits. This interview took place at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA.