Radiation Therapy and Drug Combo is Effective in Treating Lung Cancer

A combination of radiation therapy and bavituximab, a monoclonal antibody that helps destroy blood vessels nourishing malignant tumours, is more effective in treating lung cancer than either approach alone, say researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The researchers based their results on the findings of a study in which human lung-cancer cells were implanted in mice.

Dr. Philip Thorpe, professor of pharmacology, says that radiation generates a chemical reaction in the membranes of endothelial cells, which line the blood vessels that feed tumours. The reaction causes membrane components called anionic phospholipids to flip inside out, exposing them, he says.



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