THE MISUSE OF ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE TO DETECT SYNERGY IN COMBINATION-DRUG STUDIES

Drug combination studies often examine the possibility of synergy betw een drugs. Synergy is defined as an effect of a combination of drugs g reater than that expected from the effects of the drugs given individu ally. One technique used by several investigators is the use of analys is of variance (ANOVA) to determine synergy. In this discussion, the a rgument is made that due to the pharmacology of drug combination studi es the conditions necessary to support the use of ANOVA to detect syne rgy are typically not met. Therefore, the ANOVA technique is invalid f or these drug combination studies.