Open AccessRecent Advances in Combined Modality Therapy
Author(s) -
Mierzwa Michelle L.,
Nyati Mukesh K.,
Morgan Meredith A.,
Lawrence Theodore S.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the oncologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.176
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1549-490X
pISSN - 1083-7159
DOI - 10.1634/theoncologist.2009-s105
Subject(s) - radiation therapy , modality (human–computer interaction) , targeted therapy , treatment modality , medicine , computational biology , combination therapy , cancer research , pharmacology , bioinformatics , biology , cancer , computer science , human–computer interaction
Combined modality therapy emerged from preclinical data showing that carefully chosen drugs could enhance the sensitivity of tumor cells to radiation while having nonoverlapping toxicities. Recent advances in molecular biology involving the identification of cellular receptors, enzymes, and pathways involved in tumor growth and immortality have resulted in the development of biologically targeted drugs. This review highlights the recent clinical data in support of newer generation cytotoxic chemotherapies and systemic targeted agents in combination with radiation therapy.