Possible role of potentiators in radiation therapy.

In retinoblastoma a higher cure rate with less damage to the adjacent normal tissue was demonstrated when TEM was used in conjunction with roentagen radiation, demonstrating that the efficacy of roentgen therapy can be increased by chemical potentiation.

Abstract

In retinoblastoma a higher cure rate with less damage to the adjacent normal tissue was demonstrated when TEM was used in conjunction with roentagen radiation. Numerous possibilities for the potentiation of roentgen-ray effects by chemotherapeutic agents have been suggested. Among these, FU and actinomycin D appear to have limited usefulness. The mode of incorporation lnto DNA of other halogenated pyrimidine analogues such as BUDR and IUDR suggests that these compounds hold promise as potentiating agents. More pre-clinical investigation is indicated in order to select that combination most likely to succeed on a clinical level. In order to prove that the efficacy of roentgen therapy can be increased by chemical potentiation, a long-term study of patients, carefully selected as to neoplastic type, will be necesssry. (auth)