Which of the Following Drug Is Most Likely to Have a Synergistic Effect When Combined With Radiation Therapy?

February 01, 2019

The Answer

The answer is D. Ipilimumab.

Amifostine, pentoxifylline, and palifermin (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5039571/) are all types of radioprotectants.

Ipilimumab is a CTLA-4 inhibitor that has shown promise in clinical trials to improve some patients’ response to radiation therapy. Several recent trials (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405630817300782) have suggested that combining radiation with immunotherapy, primarily checkpoint inhibitors, may have a synergistic effect on metastatic melanoma by preventing tumor cells from evading the immune response through several mechanisms.

For more information about checkpoint inhibitors and how they work, watch a short video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2pTTDw0dtc&feature=youtu.be).

Topics:

Clinical practice (https://voice.ons.org/topic/clinical-practice)
Combination therapy (https://voice.ons.org/topic/combination-therapy)