The TLR7 agonist imiquimod as an adjuvant for radiotherapy-elicited in situ vaccination against breast cancer

Radiotherapy can convert malignant cells into an in situ anticancer vaccine, but is often inadequate at generating sufficient pro-inflammatory signals to optimally activate innate and adaptive immune responses. Topical imiquimod is a powerful pro-inflammatory agent with clinical activity against superficial skin cancers. These two modalities appear to complement each other, hence achieving local and systemic tumor control.