'Bet hedging' explains the efficacy of many combination cancer therapies

(Harvard Medical School) Survival benefits of many cancer drug combinations are not due to drug synergy, but to a form of " bet hedging. " Combination treatment gives each patient multiple chances of responding to at least one drug, increasing measures of survival within patient populations. Findings suggest new ways to interpret clinical trial data, identify truly synergistic drug pairings and improve the design of combination therapies.
Source: EurekAlert! - Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: news