Multiple basis of combination chemotherapy

Abstract

In combination chemotherapy, the type of drug interactions can be divided into three broad categories: 1) combinations based on cooperative effects of active drugs; 2) combinations in which the effectiveness of an active drug is increased by the concurrent administration of an inactive agent; and 3) combination of an active drug with an agent capable of selectively reversing the toxicity of the first drug. Many concepts have been proposed to explain the synergistic interaction between two active drugs at the level of the target cell. These include multiple inhibition of a single enzyme, enhanced activation, decreased inactivation, increased drug uptake, sequential blockade, concurrent inhibition, complimentary inhibition, and concerted inhibition. The therapeutic advantage of combination chemotherapy may reside in the whole organism, reflecting increased bioavailability of drug, reduced dose-limiting toxicity or reduced impairment of host defenses; it may reside in the tumor cells, reflecting the multiple molecular mechanisms of interaction mentioned above. Examples discussed include among others methotrexate plus citrovorum factor, thymidine or allopurinol, araC plus tetrahydrouridine and 3-deazauridine plus testosterone.