From additivity to synergism – A modelling perspective

SummaryInterest in synergistic or antagonistic effects through mixture experiments has grown immensely over the past two decades, not the least within in pharmacology and toxicology. Several definitions of reference models exist; one commonly used reference model is concentration or dose addition, which assumes compounds, when administrated simultaneously, do not interfere with each other at the site of action. We focus on statistical modelling that allows evaluation of dose addition. We will describe several statistical approaches that are suitable for analysis mixture data where synergistic or antagonistic effects may be present. The statistical models are defined and explained and some of the approaches exemplified. Code in open-source software is provided.