Abscopal effect after bronchial artery embolization for cancer-related hemoptysis

Abstract

The abscopal effect, a rare phenomenon in cancer treatment, involves tumor regression in a distant location from the targeted therapy. This case focuses on a 74-year-old woman with metastatic papillary thyroid cancer. Despite prior treatments, she experienced pulmonary nodule progression and hemoptysis. Bland particle embolization was performed on the right bronchial artery branches supplying lung metastases, leading to significant reductions in size, number, and metabolic activity of the right-sided nodules and decreased metabolic activity of the untreated left-sided nodules, without additional cancer-related treatments. The abscopal effect has been observed with various interventional oncologic procedures, indicating a potential role in stimulating the immune response and altering the tumor microenvironment. Further investigation is needed to understand bland embolization's immunomodulatory effects and implications for triggering the abscopal effect.