ABSTRACT
The ultimate goal of cancer chemotherapy is to reduce the tumor burden to the lowest possible level without intolerable toxicity. With very few exceptions, most notably choriocarcinoma, chemotherapy utilizing single agents had not been successful in prolonging patient survival, and in this regard, the introduction of combination chemotherapy in the early 1960s marked a major step forward. Combination chemotherapy is now the standard component for the treatment ofmost advanced cancers. In the following discussion of the fundamental concepts of combination chemotherapy, two major areas will be considered: the first will be the pharmacological rationale for the selection of chemotherapeutic agents to be used in combination, and the second will be the clinical considerations impacting on the administration of combination chemotherapy.
