# Abscopal effect

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/abscopal-effect/  
OnCo record `abscopal-effect` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

When irradiating one tumour causes untreated tumours elsewhere to shrink, via the immune system.

## Summary

The abscopal effect is the phenomenon in which irradiating one tumour causes untreated tumours elsewhere in the body to shrink, mediated by the immune system. It is rare with radiotherapy alone and more frequent when combined with Immune checkpoint inhibitors, and the mechanism runs through cGAS-STING innate sensing, antigen release and T-cell priming. It is the rationale for trials of SBRT / SABR (stereotactic radiotherapy) plus immunotherapy, which have given mixed results, PEMBRO-RT being positive and others negative. The term is linked to the pairing Radiotherapy + immunotherapy, to Lattice and GRID radiotherapy, In situ vaccination and Histotripsy as an immune primer, and to an idea on turning one tumour into a vaccine for all the others.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Also known as: abscopal effects

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscopal_effect
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abscopal_effect

## Connected records

- technologies: [Histotripsy as an immune primer](https://onco.cc/technologies/histotripsy-immune-priming/), [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/), [In situ vaccination](https://onco.cc/technologies/in-situ-vaccination/), [Lattice and GRID radiotherapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/lattice-radiotherapy/), [SBRT / SABR (stereotactic radiotherapy)](https://onco.cc/technologies/sbrt/)
- pathways: [cGAS-STING innate sensing](https://onco.cc/pathways/cgas-sting/)
- ideas: [A neutral platform trial for radiotherapy plus immunotherapy combinations](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-fund-rt-io-platform/), [Mechanically pulverise one tumour with ultrasound to wake the immune system](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio2-histotripsy-immune-priming/), [Photoimmunotherapy as an in situ vaccine with PD-1 blockade](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-photoimmunotherapy-plus-pd1/), [Pick the radiation dose that switches the immune alarm on, not off](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio2-radiotherapy-sting-fractionation/), [Turn one tumour into a vaccine to treat all the others](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-bio2-in-situ-vaccination-solid/)
- pairings: [Radiotherapy + immunotherapy](https://onco.cc/pairings/radiation-plus-io/)
- bottlenecks: [Cold tumours and the immunosuppressive microenvironment](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-tme-immunosuppression/)
- terms: [Radiotherapy](https://onco.cc/terms/radiotherapy/)
- institutions: [Cancer Center Clínica Universidad de Navarra / CIMA](https://onco.cc/institutions/cun-navarra/), [Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute](https://onco.cc/institutions/shandong-cancer-hospital/)

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