Figure 1.

Tumor destruction or repair following cytotoxic therapy. High dose radiation therapy of tumors results in death of cancer cells, endothelial cells, and lymphocytes, but small numbers of cancer cells with clonogenic potential can survive. Cancer cell death triggers phagocytic receptors on radioresistant tumor macrophages and results in recruitment of both lymphocytes and macrophages to the treatment site. The immune response and the inflammatory milieu at the treatment site may influence outcome; a proinflammatory environment can permit immune-mediated clearance of residual cancer cells, while an anti-inflammatory environment can suppress adaptive immunity and repair the tumor environment for cancer recurrence.