Pharmacological modification of radiation lung damage

As the treatment of cancer becomes more complex and more aggressive the interactions between drugs and radiation damage to normal tissues become increasingly important. The lung has always been an important tissue limiting radiation dose during thoracic irradiation, but has assumed more prominence in recent years as a dose-limiting tissue in total body irradiation prior to bone marrow transplantation. In this thesis experiments are described which examine the effects of cytotoxic drugs upon radiation lung damage in the mouse. The effect of cyclophosphamide upon the response to irradiation administered at a low dose-rate, an established technique for reducing radiation lung damage, has been studied. The results have important clinical implications. A simple screening method for testing the interaction of radiation with cytotoxics using a single dose of drug and a single dose of hemithoracic irradiation has been examined. The value of the method is considered and the results with individual drugs discussed. (author)