In the following, we will briefly mention each of the relevant regimens.
We extend previous efforts by attempting to generalise the concept of 'carrier-based radiochemotherapy', by implementing clinically relevant regimens of radio- and chemotherapy, and by directly comparing the radiosensitising potential of polymeric prodrugs to that of free chemotherapeutic agents.
In contrast, using mathematical models may be a fast and inexpensive way to predict beneficial Doc and G-CSF combination therapy out of a large space of clinically relevant regimens.
Using a clinically relevant regimen, this study investigated the effects of treatment with ibandronate, a highly potent nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate, on bone loss, biochemical markers of bone turnover, densitometry, histomorphometry, biomechanical properties, and bone concentration in aged ovariectomized monkeys.
Thus, in this respect it seems that the 'Back School Programme' is a very relevant regimen to improve both patients' physical and psychological status.
When combining a clinically relevant regimen of (weekly) chemotherapy with a clinically relevant regimen of (daily) radiotherapy, it can therefore be expected that a drug delivered to the tumour by means of a drug targeting system interacts more effectively with radiotherapy than does a free, untargeted drug.
The potential of combining them with a clinically relevant regimen of fractionated radiotherapy, for instance, has not yet been properly evaluated, even though there is an obvious rationale for doing so.
In line with our rationale, however, upon again combining the agents with a clinically relevant regimen of fractionated radiotherapy (12 × 3 Gy), it could again be observed that the targeted formulation was significantly more effective than the free drug: for B-Gem, a DEF of 2.79 was found, as compared to a DEF of 'only' 2.14 for free gemcitabine (Supplementary Table 2).
Ferro et al (2008) shows that the irinotecan-based regimens used in the United States are not consistent with the UK-relevant regimens identified in this study.
It was interesting to note that out of 22 trials identified that investigated the use of irinotecan with 5-FU, only 1 used IrMdG, the UK-relevant regimen.
Its pharmacokinetic limitations such as low bioavailability and high ED50 impede development of clinically relevant treatment regimens.
