Animal models testing monotherapy versus combination antifungal therapy: lessons learned and future directions

The continued rise in serious fungal infections and rises in therapy failure dictate that more efficacious therapies be developed. Combination therapy using available drugs is an attractive choice, yet primarily only anecdotal clinical data are available. We review here data from animal models as an indicator of future potential.

The primary data are from murine studies and we will briefly review chemotherapeutic combination studies, some showing benefit over monotherapy and some showing no benefit over monotherapy. In addition, we will address the potential of immunotherapy in combination with conventional therapy.

The data derived from animal model studies of antifungal drug efficacy have proven to be predictive of clinical utility. Studies on combination therapy will prove useful to the clinician in evaluating courses of treatment, especially where clinical-trial data are not available or probable in the future.