[Safe handling of cytotoxic drugs. Cytotoxic drugs and safe handling].
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We analysed 99 courses of leukapheresis after the use of cytotoxic drugs or cytotoxic drugs plus G-CSF (cytotoxic/G-CSF) to mobilize peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) in 68 patients with hematologic or solid malignancies. Mean yields of granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells (CFU-GM) with cytotoxic/G-CSF mobilization were significantly higher than those with cytotoxic mobilization (18.6 vs 8.40 x 10(4)/kg). The optimal timing of collection was different between these two mobilizations; the mean number of days to a peak level of circulating CFU-GM after cytotoxic/G-CSF mobilization was less than that after cytotoxic mobilization (24.2 vs 27.7 days). The leukocyte level on the day of peak CFU-GM was significantly higher in cytotoxic/G-CSF mobilization than that in cytotoxic mobilization (mean 12.8 vs 2.7 x 10(9)/l), whereas the platelet level was not different (mean 132 vs 125 x 10(9)/l). Increasing patient age was not a major adverse factor for PBSC collection. Synchronous recovery of both leukocytes and platelets was critical for achieving a high CFU-GM yield in these two mobilizations. Following PBSC autotransplantation, the rate of trilineage hematologic reconstitution showed a significant correlation with the infused dose of CFU-GM, whether they were collected with cytotoxic or cytotoxic/G-CSF mobilization. These results suggest that G-CSF can expand the PBSC pool and that CFU-GM yield after cytotoxic/G-CSF mobilization may predict trilineage hemopoietic reconstitution after ABSCT, as well as cytotoxic mobilization.
Cytotoxic agent processing assumes certain prerequisites in order to guarantee a high level of security for both personnel and the material used. A lab-scale unit designed for the production and analysis of nanosuspensions of cytotoxic agents has been in use for more than three years. This design encompasses equipment, exhaust systems, materials used and measures for staff security, and this lab suite may also be used in applications that involve production in aseptic conditions.
Presuming that preparation of antineoplastic drugs without proper protection may lead to mutagenic urine (of which the effects are uncertain), one has to take great care when preparing these drugs. Apart from Norway no other country has national regulations issued by the government for handling cytostatic agents. Many organizations in various countries have made their own guidelines, which may be adapted to the situations in local hospitals. The following recommendations have been compiled after a review of the literature. They reflect a personal set of guidelines for preparation, administration and disposal of cytotoxic drugs. They are probably the minimum precautions that should be taken, and have not been approved by any committee or agency. Further precautions must first have their potential benefit weighed against probable inconvenience and additional costs.
Recent evidence suggests that one mechanism whereby cytotoxic drugs, such as doxorubicin, kill tumors is the induction or up-regulation of Fas ligand (FasL) expression on the tumor cell surface. The ensuing engagement of Fas by FasL on adjacent cells leads to apoptosis. However, despite cytotoxic drug-induced FasL expression, Fas-sensitive tumors frequently resist chemotherapy, suggesting that they may possess a mechanism that prevents or inactivates Fas-FasL interactions. In the present work, we addressed the involvement of the FasL/Fas signaling pathway in doxorubicin-induced apoptosis and the ability of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) to proteolytically cleave FasL in tumor cells. Doxorubicin-induced apoptosis was inhibited by expression of soluble Fas or incubation of the tumor cells with MMP-7 but not with MMP-2 or MMP-9. Resistance to doxorubicin was also induced by expression in the tumor cells of constitutively active MMP-7 but not of a catalytically inactive mutant. Conversely, inhibition of MMP-7 expression in tumor cells by transfection of MMP-7 cDNA in antisense orientation resulted in sensitization to doxorubicin. MMP-7 efficiently cleaved recombinant FasL in vitro and reduced cell surface FasL expression. Our observations provide evidence that one mechanism whereby MMP-7 may promote tumor survival and resistance to doxorubicin is by cleaving FasL and reducing its effectiveness in triggering Fas-mediated apoptosis.
Cytotoxic drugs are a unique therapeutic class of fundamental importance in current antineoplastic chemotherapy. These drugs belong to many chemical and chemotherapeutic classes. They are cytotoxic by design and are able to cause serious dose-limiting adverse effects at therapeutic doses. Most antineoplastic dosing strategies focus on minimizing cytotoxicity rather than optimizing efficacy. In turn, cytotoxicity is interconnected with other therapeutic considerations, including cell status (renewing vs. non-renewing cell types), cell membrane transport integrity, intracellular activation status, immune system integrity, cellular repair status, and drug resistance. Regulatory requirements for the development of cytotoxic drugs are not well characterized, and differences exist in regional requirements. A safety assessment package which is utilized and accepted world-wide does not yet exist, despite many efforts of harmonization. In this report, the authors introduce a comprehensive safety assessment package for cytotoxic drugs, based on institutional experience acquired globally with this class of drugs, that fulfills both scientific and world-wide regulatory requirements for this very important therapeutic category.
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A cytotoxic drug (vincristine, VC) was incorporated into low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and given to cancer patients for the first time by repeated intravenous injection. Individuals presenting with ovarian or endometrial cancer received four or five weekly doses of 1.4 mg/m2 LDL/VC. The uptake of LDL/VC by the adrenal cortex and the liver was minimised by concurrent administration of prednisolone and chenodeoxycholic acid. No febrile, allergic or other reaction attributable to the LDL occurred, and no side effect on haemopoietic, adrenal or liver functions was observed. The neurotoxic side effects commonly seen during VC therapy appeared to be reduced. These results suggest that directed cytotoxic therapy might be achieved in humans through the use of LDL as a carrier. Thus, dose-range and comparative studies using LDL/VC vs VCSO4 are warranted in malignancies in which treatment with the latter drug has been established.
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Vinblastine-sensitive (CCRF-CEM) and -resistant (CEM/VLB100) human T-cell lymphoblasts were treated with the lysosomotropic agent chloroquine. As measured by growth inhibition, this drug enhanced the cytotoxicity of vinblastine in the CEM/VLB100 cells but was less effective in the CCRF-CEM cells. Chloroquine also enhanced the cytotoxic activity of vincristine, daunorubicin and doxorubicin and, to a lesser extent, teniposide (VM-26) in the CEM/VLB100 cells. Histological examination revealed that the vinblastine-resistant cells contained more cytoplasmic vacuoles than their drug-sensitive counter-parts. When the CEM/VLB100 cells were treated with chloroquine, vinblatine, or a combination of the two, the cells displayed many more cytoplasmic vacuoles than the controls. Coincident with the increased number of vacuoles, these treated cells stained more intensely than controls for the lysosomal enzyme, acid phosphatase, but not for lipid. The vacuolization did not increase as much in the CCRF-CEM cell line when these cells were exposed to the chloroquine + vinblastine combination. Vacuolization was also associated with vincristine, doxorubicin, and daunorubicin treatments, but not with VM-26. We conclude that chloroquine is a modulator of anticancer drug action in the CEM/VLB100 cell line.
Therapeutic drug monitoring is not routinely used for cytotoxic agents. There are several reasons, but one major drawback is the lack of established therapeutic concentration ranges. Combination chemotherapy makes the establishment of therapeutic ranges for individual drugs difficult, the concentration-effect relationship for a single drug may not be the same as when that drug is used in a drug combination. Pharmacokinetic optimization protocols for many classes of cytotoxic compounds exist in specialized centres, and some of these protocols are now part of large multicentre trials. Nonetheless, methotrexate is the only agent which is routinely monitored in most treatment centres. An additional factor, especially in antimetabolite therapy, is the existence of pharmacogenetic enzymes which play a major role in drug metabolism. Monitoring of therapy could include assay of phenotypic enzyme activities or genotype in addition to, or instead, the more traditional measurement of parent drug or drug metabolites. The cytotoxic activities of mercaptopurine and fluorouracil are regulated by thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), respectively. Lack of TPMT functional activity produces life-threatening mercaptopurine myelotoxicity. Very low DPD activity reduces fluorouracil breakdown producing severe cytotoxicity. These pharmacogenetic enzymes can influence the bioavailability, pharmacokinetics, toxicity and efficacy of their substrate drugs.
Susceptibility to cytotoxic drugs was studied using an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome-negative Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cell line (Ramos) originating from the tumor cells and an in vitro EBV-converted Ramos cell line (B7). Decreased doubling time (DT) with increased saturation density (SD) and elevated [3H]thymidine incorporation were shown in B7, indicating more rapid cell proliferation and growth. However, B7 was highly susceptible to cytotoxic drugs when compared to Ramos. These results indicated whether the presence or absence of EBV genome in tumor cells may be beneficial for evaluation of susceptibility to cytotoxic chemotherapy in patients with BL.
Antimetabolite drugs that inhibit nucleic acid metabolism are widely used in cancer chemotherapy. Nucleoside and nucleobase transporters are important for the cellular uptake of nucleic acids and their corresponding anticancer analogue drugs. Thus, these transporters may play a role both in antimetabolite drug sensitivity, by mediating the uptake of nucleoside analogues, and in antimetabolite drug resistance, by mediating the uptake of endogenous nucleosides that may rescue cells from toxicity. Therefore, we examined the relation of the expression of nucleoside and nucleobase transporters to antimetabolite cytotoxicity. We measured the RNA levels of all eight known nucleoside and nucleobase transporters in 50 cell lines included in the National Cancer Institute's Anticancer Drug Screen panel. RNA levels of concentrative nucleoside transporters (CNTs), equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs) and nucleobase transporters (NCBTs) were determined by quantitative RT-PCR using real-time fluorescence acquisition. This method was validated by measuring the expression of the MDR1 gene, and correlating our results with independently determined measurements of MDR1 RNA levels and protein function in these cell lines. We then correlated the pattern of RNA levels to the pattern of cytotoxicity of anticancer drugs in the NCI drug screen database using the COMPARE analysis. Several hypothesized relations between transporter gene expression and cytotoxicity, based upon known interactions between certain nucleoside analogues and transporter proteins, were not observed, suggesting that expression of individual transporters may not be a significant determinant of the cytotoxicity of these drugs. The most closely correlated drug cytotoxicity patterns to transporter gene expression patterns (where increased expression corresponds to increase sensitivity) included those between CNT1 and O6-methylguanine and between ENT2 and hydroxyurea. We also observed that p53 status influenced correlations between ENT1 transporter gene RNA levels and sensitivity to the drugs tiazafurin, AZQ and 3-deazauridine. One of three drugs identified by correlation of cytotoxicity patterns with ENT1 RNA levels, 3-deazauridine, inhibited uptake of the classic ENT1 substrate uridine, demonstrating a physical interaction between an identified drug and the transporter. These studies demonstrate that it is possible to correlate genetic information to functional databases to determine the influence of transport gene expression on drug sensitivity and to identify transporter-drug interactions.
A novel combretastatin A-4 derivative, AC7700, which is now in Phase I clinical trials under a new code, AVE8062, has shown strong antitumour effects against solid tumours in rodents because of its powerful and continued stanching of the tumour blood flow (TBF). Despite the strong tumour-suppressing qualities of AC7700, it does not produce an immediate reduction in tumour size. To elucidate the reason for this effect, we investigated the relationship between the change in tumour size in Sato lung carcinoma (SLC) and circulatory functions after therapy with AC7700, doxorubicin (Adriamycin [ADR]), or mitomycin C (MMC). To measure time-lapse changes in TBF with the hydrogen clearance method at the same site after drug administration, we developed a new apparatus for keeping electrodes within a tumour. AC7700 led to the destruction of both cancer cells and tumour vessels by interrupting the supply of nutrients. Intravenous (i.v.) administration of fluorescent dyes after AC7700 treatment revealed no fluorescence within the tumour vessels, which confirmed that the tumour microcirculation had been completely blocked. In contrast, ADR led to the destruction of SLC tumour cells, but did not have the same effect on tumour vessels. Intravenously administered fluorescent dyes immediately reached the tumour, which indicated that the tumour vasculature remained intact, and the TBF remained at the preadministration level, even 6 days after ADR treatment. In addition, although the size of the tumour increased slightly for 2 days with ADR treatment, possibly because of swelling of the cancer cells, thereafter it continued to decrease. MMC had virtually no effect on SLC tumour cells, tumour size or tumour vessels. We conclude that changes in tumour size brought about by cancer chemotherapy depend not only on the sensitivity of the cancer cells to the drug in question, but also on the nature of changes in the microcirculatory functions of the tumour brought about by the therapy. When both tumour cells and the tumour vasculature are destroyed, the effectiveness of therapy can not be determined from changes in tumour size alone.
Extravasation of certain cytotoxic agents during peripheral intravenous administration may cause severe local injuries. Most extravasation can be prevented with the systematic implementation of careful administration techniques. However, the management of this complication, the aim of which is to prevent progression to tissue necrosis and ulceration, remains an important challenge in the care of cancer patients. Many antidotes have been evaluated experimentally and a few may be able to reduce the local toxicity of the more common vesicant cytotoxic drugs. Because no randomised trial on the management of cytotoxic drug extravasation in humans has ever been completed, recommendations must be based on the more consistent experimental evidence and on cumulative clinical experience from available case reports and uncontrolled studies, which are reviewed in this article. Empirical guidelines recommend the use of topical dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and cooling after extravasation of anthracyclines or mitomycin, locally injected hyaluronidase after extravasation of vinca alkaloids, and locally injected sodium thiosulfate (sodium hyposulfite) after extravasation of chlormethine (mechlorethamine; mustine). Plastic surgery may be necessary when conservative treatment fails to prevent ulceration. The possibility of late local reactions must also be considered in the management of patients receiving chemotherapy.
Cytotoxic agents and aminoglycosides when given for a maximum of eleven days damaged the renal tubules as indicated by an increased urinary beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2-m), N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) and total protein. Methotrexate (MTX) caused the greatest changes among the cytotoxic agents studied. Prophylactic doses of aminoglycosides in surgical patients also caused tubuloproteinuria. The tubular damage was greatest when aminoglycosides were given to treat septicaemia complicating haematological malignancies in patients who had previously had cytotoxic drugs. However, even in these patients there was no evidence of glomerular failure or increased glomerular permeability seven days after beginning chemotherapy.
The majority of cytotoxic drugs exert a dose-dependent injury to the hemopoietic bone marrow. In experimental systems, two different types of damage to the hemopoietic stem cell compartments have been demonstrated to occur following cytotoxic drug exposure. First, a reversible reduction of the size of these stem cell compartments; recovery of compartment size results from a transiently increased proliferative activity of those stem cells surviving the cytotoxic drug exposure. Second, irreversibly decreased proliferative potential of pluripotent stem cells has been observed after some cytotoxic agents. Experimental evidence indicates that such permanent stem cell damage may lead to the failure of the hemopoietic bone marrow to produce sufficient numbers of blood cells. There are indications that a similar permanent damage to the hemopoietic system may occur in man following repeated exposure to at least some cytotoxic agents.