Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S S de Graaf

Publications and source records attributed to S S de Graaf.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

An automated method for the bioanalysis of vincristine suitable for therapeutic drug monitoring and pharmacokinetic studies in young children.

Pharmacokinetic studies in young children require very sensitive methods using low plasma volumes. Although vincristine has been used as an antineoplastic drug for almost 40 years, data on vincristine pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are scarce, especially in young children. One of the reasons for this is the lack of a specific and sensitive assay suitable for small plasma volumes. Therefore the authors aimed to improve an existing high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay by changing the solid-phase extraction material and by using a more sensitive and controlled electrochemical detector. An on-line solid-phase extraction was used with a preconcentration column of 10 * 3 mm ID containing octadecyl silane (ODS) reversed-phase material and an analytical microsphere C18 column. The mobile phase was unchanged and consisted of 35% phosphate buffer 0.02 mol (pH 7.00 +/- 0.10), 50% methanol, and 15% acetonitrile. Detection was performed with a new electrochemical detector. This detector comprised a highly stable Faraday-shielded oven compartment that accommodated a column and flowcell. The flowcell had a spacer thickness of 0.25 microm set at 830 mV. It also had an excellent signal-to-noise ratio, which resulted in very sensitive electrochemical analysis. These improvements resulted in a lower required sample volume of only 0.3 mL instead of 1.2 mL plasma with a very low limit of quantitation of 0.483 microg/L according to good laboratory practice (GLP) rules. The intraday coefficients of variation were 6.2% (0.483 microg/L) and 4.2% (18.4 microg/L). The interday coefficients of variation were 10.3% (0.483 microg/L) and 8.5% (18.4 microg/L).

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗

The influence of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-I (rhIGF-I) on cell growth and cytotoxicity of drugs in childhood rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines and xenograft models.

PURPOSE: Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I (rhIGF-I) has been reported to ameliorate vincristine-induced neuropathy, the dose-limiting side effect of this antimitotic anticancer drug. However, rhIGF-I also might have adverse effects, as has been shown in vitro, where it stimulates growth of cancer cells and protects them from cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs. The influence of rhIGF-I on the cytotoxicity of vincristine has not yet been studied. Furthermore, studies performed have been done under serum-free conditions, which are far from physiological. METHODS: We studied the influence of rhIGF-I on the growth of two rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines (Rh30 and Rh1) and on the antitumor effects of vincristine, cisplatin, etoposide, doxorubicin, and topotecan under serum-free and serum-containing conditions. To extend the in vitro data, we grew Rh30 cells as xenografts in mice and determined the effects of vincristine. rhIGF-I or their combination on tumor growth. RESULTS: In vitro, both cell lines demonstrated a functional type I IGF receptor, as shown by the rapid activation of ribosomal p70 S6 kinase after stimulation with rhIGF-I. Under serum-free conditions, rhIGF-I stimulated growth of both cell lines. Exposure to cytotoxic drugs with and without rhIGF-I resulted in higher cell numbers in cultures exposed to rhIGF-I. However, relative to the appropriate control, fractional growth inhibition and or cell kill of the cytotoxic drugs was identical with and without rhIGF-I. Under serum-containing conditions, rhIGF-I had no effect on cell growth or drug cytotoxicity. In vivo we did not find a significant influence of rhIGF-I on HxRh30 cell growth, or on the antitumor activity of vincristine. CONCLUSIONS: These studies show that rhIGF-I has no adverse effects on human rhabdomyosarcoma growth or on the antitumor effect of cytotoxic drugs under serum-containing conditions in vitro or in tumor-bearing mice. Potentially, therefore, rhIGF-I may ameliorate vincristine-induced neuropathy without adversely influencing tumor growth or vincristine cytotoxicity in children.

Animals↗

Vincristine-induced apoptosis in vivo in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL).

We conducted a study to demonstrate vincristine-induced apoptosis in vivo in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). In five children, apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay in blood samples collected during an up-front window study of vincristine monotherapy. In one patient, we found a striking increase of apoptotic cells from 2% (SEM 0.6) before to 40.7% (SEM 2.9) 3 h after vincristine injection. In the other patients, the maximum increase ranged from 0.8% to 4.3%. Wilcoxon matched pairs analysis of all patients confirmed that vincristine induces apoptosis in vivo in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in childhood ALL (P = 0.043).

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗

Vincristine pharmacokinetics after repetitive dosing in children.

PURPOSE: We studied vincristine disposition after 169 weekly i.v. bolus injections in 32 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or Wilms' tumor. The aim of the study was to determine intrapatient and interpatient variability in vincristine disposition and demographic, clinical, and biochemical characteristics influencing this variability. METHODS: Vincristine plasma concentrations were measured by a high-performance liquid chromatography assay with electrochemical detection. A limited sampling strategy was used based on a bayesian parameter estimation algorithm that is part of the ADAPT II software package. A two-compartment, first-order model was fitted to the data, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated from the model using the ADAPT II software. For statistical analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), t test, simple and multiple regression analysis, and non-parametric or robust equivalents were used. RESULTS: Results showed a large intrapatient and interpatient variability in distribution half-life, elimination half-life, total body clearance, apparent volume of distribution at steady state, and area under the concentration-time curve. Intrapatient variability was significantly smaller than interpatient variability for all these parameters except distribution half-life. The diagnosis or treatment protocol turned out to be the most predictive characteristic; leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients had a significantly higher total body clearance than Wilms' tumor patients. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that both intrapatient and interpatient variability in vincristine pharmacokinetics is large in pediatric cancer patients and that variability, although significantly influenced by diagnosis, largely remains unpredictable.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗

Translocation (11;22)(q24;q12) in a small cell tumor of the thigh in a 2-year-old boy: immunohistology, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, and review of the literature.

A case of a 2-year-old boy with a palpable mass in the left thigh is presented. Incisional biopsy was performed and subsequent histopathological examination revealed an infiltrative tumor composed of relatively large cells. The tumor cells were immunoreactive for vimentin and keratin, but not for desmin or smooth muscle actin. Cytogenetic analysis showed a 46,XY,t(11;22)(q24;q12) karyotype. The translocation (11;22)(q24;q12) is said to be characteristic for the family of Ewing's sarcoma and related tumors. As a result of the t(11;22)(q24;q12) the EWS gene on chromosome 22q12 joins the 3' part of FLI-1 gene on chromosome 11q24, which encodes a member of the ets family of transcriptional regulators. Using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) a corresponding EWS-FLI-1 fusion product was detected. Additional immunohistological staining for p30/p32MIC2, which is suggestive, but not specific for Ewing's sarcoma, appeared to be weakly positive. In the current case a diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma was considered unlikely, because of the location of the tumor and the immunohistological profile. Nevertheless it was decided to treat the patient according to a Ewing's sarcoma protocol based on the genotype of the tumor. The findings were compared with other extraosseous pediatric small cell tumors showing the t(11;22)(q24;q12) described in the literature.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

Synergy of topotecan in combination with vincristine for treatment of pediatric solid tumor xenografts.

Topotecan and vincristine were evaluated alone or in combination against 13 independent xenografts and 1 vincristine-resistant derivative, representing childhood neuroblastoma (n = 6), rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 5), or brain tumors (n = 3). Topotecan was given by i.v. bolus on a schedule found previously to be optimal. Drug was administered daily for 5 days on 2 consecutive weeks with cycles repeated every 21 days over a period of 8 weeks. Doses of topotecan ranged from 0.16 to 1.5 mg/kg to simulate clinically achievable topotecan lactone plasma systemic exposures. Vincristine was administered i.v. every 7 days at a fixed dose of 1 mg/kg. Given as a single agent, vincristine induced complete responses (CRs) in all mice bearing two rhabdomyosarcomas (Rh28 and Rh30) and some CRs in Rh12-bearing mice (57%) but relatively few CRs (<29%) in other tumors. As a single agent, topotecan induced CR in a low proportion of tumor lines. A dose-response model with a logit link function was used to investigate whether the combination of topotecan and vincristine resulted in greater than expected responses compared with the activity of the agents when administered alone. Only CR was used to evaluate tumor responses. The combination resulted in significantly greater than expected CRs than individual agents in nine tumor lines (four neuroblastoma, three brain tumors, and two rhabdomyosarcomas). Similar event-free (failure) distributions were shown in SJ-GBM2 glioblastoma xenografts, whether vincristine was administered on day 1 or day 5 of each topotecan course. To determine whether the increased antitumor activity with the combination was attributable to a change in drug disposition, extensive pharmacokinetic studies were performed. However, little or no interaction between these two agents was determined. Toxicity of the combination was marked by prolonged thrombocytopenia and decreased hemoglobin. However, approximately 75 and 80% of the maximum tolerated dose of each single agent, topotecan (1.5 mg/kg) or vincristine (1 mg/kg), could be given in combination, resulting in a combination toxicity index of approximately 1.5. These results show that the therapeutic effect of combining topotecan with vincristine was greater than additive in most tumor models of childhood solid tumors, and toxicity data suggest that this can be administered to mice with only moderate reduction in the dose levels for each agent.

Animals↗

Renal function after unilateral nephrectomy for Wilms' tumour: the influence of radiation therapy.

The effect of therapy on renal function after unilateral nephrectomy for Wilms' tumour was studied. In the second year following unilateral nephrectomy, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) were estimated simultaneously by measuring 125I-iothalamate clearance and 131I-hippurate clearance. Of 41 evaluable patients, 29 received chemotherapy as sole treatment modality following nephrectomy (group 1); 12 patients additionally received radiation therapy to a field that included the remaining kidney (group 2). Results were expressed as standard deviation scores (z-scores). In group 1, mean z-score for GFR was -0.27 (94.6% of normal) and in group 2 mean z-score was -1.51 (72.7% of normal for two kidneys) (P = 0.022, Mann-Whitney U-test). Mean z-score for ERPF was -0.09 (97.0%) in group 1 and -1.53 (73.8%) in group 2 (P = 0.039). It was concluded that the combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, in contrast to chemotherapy alone, negatively affects the ability of the remaining kidney to adjust its function after the loss of its counterpart.

Child↗

Vincristine disposition in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Vincristine (VCR) has been widely used to treat childhood malignancies for over thirty years, but its plasma disposition has not yet been well-defined. Therefore, we conducted a pharmacokinetic study of VCR in 17 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) receiving the first dose of VCR. A new high-performance liquid chromatographic assay was used for the measurement of VCR in plasma. A two-compartment pharmacokinetic model was fit to the data by nonlinear least-squares regression. Estimated pharmacokinetic parameters were highly variable; mean (S.D.) volume of distribution at steady-state was 360 (176) L.m-2; total body clearance was 431 (238) ml.min-1.m-2, and elimination half-life was 823 (390) min. These results were compared to data from eight adults with lung cancer. Mean volume of distribution in adults and children were similar, but VCR clearance was significantly larger in children (P = 0.01), resulting in a significantly longer elimination half-life in the adults (P < 0.01). We conclude that administration of a standard dosage of VCR to children with ALL results in a highly variable systemic drug exposure, which may have implications for the oncolytic effect and/or toxicity in individual patients. Comparison of data from children and adults suggests that VCR elimination rate is a function of age; this could account for more severe neurotoxicity in older patients. However, it cannot be excluded that differences between the children and adults may be due to other variables than age. Future studies should focus on the possible influence of multidrug resistance modulating agents on VCR pharmacokinetics and on pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships in individual patients.

Analysis of Variance↗

Pharmacokinetics of vincristine in children and adolescents with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

We studied the pharmacokinetics of vincristine in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia by means of a specific high-performance liquid chromatographic assay with ultraviolet and electrochemical detection and a limited sampling strategy. Our objectives were to characterize the disposition of vincristine in pediatric patients, to determine clinical, demographic, or biochemical variables related to variability in vincristine pharmacokinetic parameters, and to assess the relationship between pharmacokinetic parameters and vincristine neurotoxicity. Plasma samples were collected at 5 and 30 minutes, and 1, 3, and 24 hours after a rapid intravenous injection during 3 minutes. Vincristine-induced neurotoxicity was retrospectively evaluated by chart review. Pharmacokinetic studies were completed for 64 doses in 54 children between 2 months and 18 years of age (median, 4.3 years), including 2-month-old monozygous twin girls. Vincristine clearance, estimated by Bayesian methods, was highly variable, with a mean (SD) clearance of 19.9 (14.9) ml/min per kilogram or 482 (342) ml/min per square meter. Mean clearance for all subjects was faster than in published studies of adults, which may be related in part to the greater specificity of the assay used in our study, as well as to age-related differences in drug disposition. Vincristine-associated neurotoxicity was frequent but mild and was not predicted by vincristine systemic exposure; however, neurotoxicity may have been underestimated. Clearance in one patient who received concomitant treatment with pentobarbital exceeded the 75th percentile for all patients, and four of five patients receiving concomitant histamine2 antagonists had clearances below the 25th percentile for all subjects, suggesting that drugs that induce or inhibit hepatic cytochrome P-450 enzymes may affect vincristine disposition. Further studies are needed to identify the factors responsible for interpatient variability in vincristine disposition and to develop improved dosing guidelines.

Adolescent↗

Relationship between dose rate of [6RS]Leucovorin administration, plasma concentrations of reduced folates, and pools of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolates and tetrahydrofolates in human colon adenocarcinoma xenografts.

[6RS]Leucovorin (5-formyltetrahydrofolate; 5-CHO-H4PteGlu) administered in different regimens in combination with 5-fluorouracil (FUra) has increased the response rates to FUra in patients with colon adenocarcinoma. Using preclinical models of human colon adenocarcinomas as xenografts in immune-deprived mice, the effect of the rate of administration of racemic [6RS]leucovorin on the concentration-time profile of reduced folates in plasma, size of intratumor pools of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolates (CH2-H4PteGlun) and tetrahydrofolates (H4PteGlun), and the distribution of their polyglutamate species have been examined. Bolus injection i.v., or 4-h or 24-h infusion of [6RS]leucovorin (500 mg/m2) yielded similar concentration profiles of the biologically active [6S] and inactive [6R] isomers of 5-CHO-H4-PteGlu and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-CH3-H4PteGlu) in mouse plasma to those previously reported in humans, but with more rapid elimination half-lives (t1/2 = 11 to 16 min, 23 to 41 min, and 30 to 35 min, respectively). Thus, reduced folates remained elevated in plasma during the period of [6RS]leucovorin administration. In HxELC2 and HxGC3 tumors, pools of CH2-H4PteGlun and H4PteGlun were increased from 350% to 700% of control, but only during [6RS]leucovorin infusion. Intracellular levels subsequently declined rapidly, similar to the loss of reduced folates from plasma. Increasing the rate of [6RS]leucovorin delivery by decreasing the time for administration from a 24-h to a 4-h infusion did not further increase the intratumor pools of CH2-H4PteGlun and H4PteGlun, suggesting saturation in the cellular metabolism of [6RS]leucovorin. In HxGC3 tumors, CH2-H4PteGlu4-5 were elevated more rapidly than in line HxELC2, which accumulated predominantly a shorter chain length species following i.v. bolus injection. During the 4-h infusion schedule, di- and triglutamate species in particular accumulated in both tumors with no elevation in CH2-H4PteGlu5 until the infusion was discontinued, when this species increased as the shorter chain length forms were declining. However, during the 24-h infusion of [6RS]leucovorin, CH2-H4PteGlu3-5 were elevated in tumors. Since these species have been reported to increase the binding affinity of [6-3H]5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate ([6-3H]FdUMP) to thymidylate synthase, and intratumor pools of CH2-H4PteGlun and H4PteGlun were elevated during the 24-h infusion of [6RS]leucovorin, this was considered to be the preferred schedule for administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adenocarcinoma↗

Comparison of the conversion of 5-formyltetrahydrofolate and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate to 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolates and tetrahydrofolates in human colon tumors.

Four hr infusions i.v. of [6RS]5-formyltetrahydrofolate ([6RS]5-CHO-H4PteGlu; 500 mg/m2) and [6RS]5-methyltetrahydrofolate ([6RS]5-CH3-H4PteGlu; 500 mg/m2) were compared for their relative effects on expansion of pools of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolates (CH2-H4PteGlun) and tetrahydrofolates (H4PteGlun) in two human colon adenocarcinoma xenografts in mice. Expansion of these pools by 253-661% of control and increase in predominance of di-, tri-, and tetra-glutamate species were observed during [6RS]5-CHO-H4PteGlu infusion. In contrast, only modest pool size expansion (148-164% of control) and limited modulation of polyglutamate species were detected in four tumor lines during infusion with [6RS]5-CH3-H4PteGlu. The data suggest that [6RS]5-CH3-H4PteGlu is less effective than [6RS]5-CHO-H4PteGlu as a precursor for pools of CH2-H4PteGlun and H4PteGlun in colon tumors.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Phase I clinical trial of orally administered 4-demethoxydaunorubicin (idarubicin) with pharmacokinetic and in vitro drug sensitivity testing in children with refractory leukemia.

Fifteen children with acute leukemia in relapse, refractory to conventional therapy, were treated with idarubicin administered orally for 3 consecutive days in dosages ranging from 30 to 50 mg/m2 per day at 19- to 21-day intervals. Gastrointestinal complications, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and stomatitis, were the major forms of dose-limiting toxicity, affecting the majority of patients at all levels of idarubicin dosage. Two patients who had received total-body irradiation for bone marrow transplantation developed life-threatening gastrointestinal toxicity suggestive of a radiation "recall" phenomenon. Echocardiographic evidence of depressed cardiac function, without clinical symptoms or signs, was noted in six of 11 patients, although the changes were judged to be significant in only one child. The maximal tolerated oral dose of idarubicin was 40 mg/m2 per day. The medium terminal plasma half-life of idarubicin was 9.2 h (range, 6.4-25.5 h). Both idarubicin and its metabolite, idarubicinol, accumulated during the 3 days of therapy. Among the five patients with acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia whose cells were tested for drug sensitivity in vitro, the idarubicin concentration resulting in 50% inhibition (IC50) of cluster and colony formation ranged from 1.6 x 10(-10) M to 5 x 10(-7) M. There was no obvious relationship between the IC50 for idarubicin and that for epirubicin or daunorubicin. Oral idarubicin produced definite antileukemic effects, clearing blast cells from the circulation in 13 of the 14 evaluable patients. Future studies should define an optimal dose schedule to circumvent the limiting gastrointestinal complications associated with this agent.

Acute Disease↗

Dissociation of body weight and lean body mass during cancer chemotherapy.

Body weight and lean body mass are different reflections of the nutritional status of patients receiving cancer chemotherapy. In the present study, the relation between lean body mass and body weight during cytostatic treatment was investigated in 3 groups of newly-diagnosed children and young adults with acute lymphocytic leukemia, osteosarcoma, or a small round cell sarcoma. Body weight and lean body mass were determined before and after an initial period of cytostatic treatment. Lean body mass was derived from total body water volume, which was assessed by deuterium oxide dilution. A significant dissociation between body weight and lean body mass was observed in leukemia patients (n = 8, P = 0.008, paired t-test), and in osteosarcoma patients (n = 13, P = 0.001). No dissociation was found in patients with a small round cell sarcoma (n = 8, P = 0.839). We conclude that during cancer chemotherapy periodic assessment of body weight may give a false picture of the preservation of lean body mass. Considering the course of body weight alone may prevent the establishment of a timely diagnosis of malnutrition, which is mandatory for optimal supportive care.

Adolescent↗

Influence of high-dose methotrexate on the distribution of body fluid volumes in the dog.

We studied the influence of high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX) on body fluid volumes in the dog, using indicator dilution techniques. In six healthy mongrel dogs total body water volume (TBW), extracellular water volume (ECW), body mass, and plasma osmolality were measured before and after infusion of both saline and HDMTX. TBW and ECW were determined simultaneously, using a double-indicator (D2O/ferrocyanide), single injection technique. In vitro experiments confirmed the reliability of ferrocyanide as an indicator for ECW, also in the presence of methotrexate. Results showed an increase in ECW after HDMTX (P = 0.029, paired Student's t-test), while TBW remained constant. Infusion of the same volume of isotonic saline in the control experiments did not result in any demonstrable change in either TBW or ECW. Therefore, infusion of HDMTX appears to cause a water shift from the intracellular to the extracellular compartment. Such a change in body water volumes may have implications for estimates of body composition and for pharmacokinetic studies in cancer patients receiving HDMTX.

Animals↗

Acute circulatory effects of doxorubicin in the conscious dog.

Experimental work on the mechanisms of acute doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity may contribute to a better understanding of the clinical problem of cardiac failure after treatment with anthracycline derivatives. We studied aortic pressure and heart rate continuously for 1 h following a bolus injection of doxorubicin (1 mg/kg) in 7 dogs. In contrast with previous studies in intact animals, no anesthesia was used in order to eliminate possible interactions of doxorubicin with other drugs. One minute after doxorubicin injection a severe hypotension was observed, the average nadir in systolic and diastolic pressure being 62% and 42% of initial values. Surprisingly, the decrease in arterial blood pressure was not accompanied by cardiac acceleration. Doxorubicin, apparently interferes with the normal regulation of heart rate through the baroreceptor control system. Although several theories have been put forward regarding the mechanisms governing acute anthracycline cardiotoxicity, our knowledge of the phenomenon is still incomplete.

Akathisia, Drug-Induced↗