Harnessing FLASH irradiation to improve immunotherapy of medulloblastoma

Trends Cancer. 2025 May;11(5):421-423. doi: 10.1016/j.trecan.2025.02.005. Epub 2025 Mar 6.

Abstract

Ultra-high dose delivery of radiation (>40 Gy/s), namely FLASH radiation therapy (FLASH-RT), is a novel treatment strategy that maximizes cell kill while sparing normal tissue. Recent data reported by Ni et al. demonstrate that one of the mechanisms through which FLASH-RT promotes inflammation involves the metabolic reprogramming of macrophages to support immune stimulation, thus enhancing immunotherapy in medulloblastoma (MB).

Keywords: FLASH-radiation; PPARg; brain tumors; fatty acid synthase; lipid metabolism; macrophages.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cerebellar Neoplasms* / immunology
  • Cerebellar Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Cerebellar Neoplasms* / radiotherapy
  • Cerebellar Neoplasms* / therapy
  • Combined Modality Therapy / methods
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy* / methods
  • Macrophages / immunology
  • Macrophages / metabolism
  • Macrophages / radiation effects
  • Medulloblastoma* / immunology
  • Medulloblastoma* / pathology
  • Medulloblastoma* / radiotherapy
  • Medulloblastoma* / therapy
  • Tumor Microenvironment / immunology
  • Tumor Microenvironment / radiation effects