Clinical and experimental studies on effects of chemotherapeutic agents on radiation-induced pulmonary damage

Clinical and experimental studies were undertaken to evaluate the effects of chemotherapeutic agents on radiation-induced pulmonary damage. In a clinical study, one hundred patients with lung cancer were retrospectively reviewed in terms of the development of radiation pneumonitis. In the patients treated with radiation and chemotherapy except for cisplatinum, radiation pneumonitis occurred more frequently and severely than patients with radiation alone. In an experimental study, male SD rats received 15 Gy radiation to the right lungs with or without injection of chemotherapeutic agents including cisplatinum, adriamycin or peplomycin. Histological changes and hydroxyproline contents of the lungs were evaluated at 2 or 5 months after treatment. Pulmonary damage was severer in rats with radiation and drugs than those with radiation alone. However, rats with cisplatinum had less damage than those with other drugs. In conclusion, radiation-induced pulmonary damage was enhanced by administration of several chemotherapeutic agents. However, cisplatinum seemed to enhance pulmonary damage less than other drugs. (author) 77 refs