Possible mechanisms of enhancement of radiation effects by cisplatin, including radiosensitization of hypoxic cells, drug-induced tumor reoxygenation, and inhibition of repair of sublethal radiation damage, were examined in the murine SCCVII model. Combination radiation/drug treatments were most effective when drug exposure preceded irradiation of animals breathing a reduced oxygen atmosphere, indicating that the primary interaction between the modalities was a cisplatin-induced increase in the oxygenation status of the acutely hypoxic cells in those tumors. Delivering cisplatin prior to or immediately after the first of two 5 Gy fractions was more effective than combinations with a single x-ray exposure, suggesting that proper sequences of the combined modalities may augment natural reoxygenation processes.
Animals Carcinoma, Squamous Cell