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W R Crom

Publications and source records attributed to W R Crom.

64 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Clinical pharmacology of bleomycin and cisplatin.

Bleomycin (Blenoxane) and cisplatin (Platinol) are two anticancer drugs, with activity for head and neck tumors, that were introduced into clinical use in the past ten years. Bleomycin is used primarily in the chemotherapy of squamous cell carcinomas, lymphomas, and testicular carcinoma, while cisplatin possesses significant activity against testicular and ovarian carcinoma, head and neck cancer, bladder cancer, and neuroblastoma. Bleomycin is rapidly excreted renally (terminal phase half-life = 2-4 h), although enzymatic inactivation also occurs in many tissues. Cisplatin is nonenzymatically converted to highly protein bound metabolites, which then undergo renal elimination, but total body clearance occurs much more slowly than with bleomycin (terminal phase half-life = 40-50 h). Both agents have acute and chronic toxicities; the acute toxicities are generally reversible but cause a great deal of patient discomfort, while the chronic toxicities are often irreversible and dose-limiting. For bleomycin, the acute toxicities are mucocutaneous are pyretic; severe nausea and vomiting represents the major acute toxicity of cisplatin therapy. Cumulative dose-related pulmonary toxicity is the most serious chronic toxicity of bleomycin. The clinical, radiographic, and pathologic presentations are nonspecific, although identification of high risk patients may be possible with serial pulmonary function tests. Cumulative nephrotoxicity occurs with cisplatin use, and its incidence and severity can be reduced by maintaining adequate hydration and diuresis during and following administration of the drug.

Bleomycin↗
PubMed1982

Disposition of intermediate-dose methotrexate in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Intermediate-dose methotrexate (MTX 200 mg/m2 iv in a bolus dose, followed by 800 mg/m2 iv, infused over 24 hours) is being used as a component of therapy for children with acute lymphocytic leukemia. To define the extent of interpatient variability in MTX disposition, with this dosage and schedule, the systemic clearance of MTX was measured in 69 children (total doses, 717; median, 10 doses per patient). The mean (+/- SD) systemic clearance was 91.6 (+/- 25.2) ml/min/m2 and ranged from 50-161 ml/min/m2. Renal clearance was measured in 16 of these patients and averaged 50.7 (+/- 14) ml/min/m2 during the MTX infusion (0-24 h), at which time mean systemic clearance was 8.7 (+/- 19) and nonrenal clearance was 31.1 (+/- 11.8) ml/min/m2. Measurement of 7-hydroxy-methotrexate in serum and urine was consistent with the substantial amount of nonrenal (metabolic) clearance observed in these patients. Cerebrospinal fluid MTX concentrations, measured at 24 hours, were 0.26 (+/- 0.1) microM when only the intravenous MTX was given and 1.08 (+/- 0.8) microM when an intrathecal dose (12 mg/m2) was also given at the start of the 24-hour infusion. This study establishes that there is substantial interpatient variability in MTX disposition in children and suggests a possible cause of variable patient response to MTX.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Pharmacokinetics of sustained serum methotrexate concentrations secondary to gastrointestinal obstruction.

A physiological pharmacokinetic model for methotrexate was refined and used to simulate serum methotrexate concentrations after high dose (5000 mg/m2) intravenous infusions with fixed normal values for all model parameters except the GI transit rate. There was good agreement between simulated and measured values when model simulations with the normal GI transit rate were compared to values measured following 109 doses administered to 27 patients with normal GI function. When model simulations were performed using GI transit rates representing 75, 50 and 10% of normal, there was a marked prolongation of the terminal serum methotrexate half-life, which was directly related to the reduction in the transit rate. When simulations were performed with GI transit reduced by 50%, the maximum amount of methotrexate in the GI lumen was 25% higher and occurred 4 hr later. Model simulations of serum methotrexate concentrations, using a GI transit rate reduced by 50%, were also in good agreement with serum concentrations measured in two patients with partial GI obstruction. These data establish a pharmacokinetic basis for previous clinical observations indicating sustained serum methotrexate concentrations in patients with GI obstructions and exemplify the utility of physiological pharmacokinetic models in assessing the potential effects of clinical variables on drug disposition.

Half-Life↗
PubMed1981

Cisplatin disposition in children and adolescents with cancer.

The disposition of cisplatin was evaluated in 28 children and adolescents with cancer, as part of a phase II clinical trial. Patients received either 30 mg/m2 (11) or 90 mg/m2 (17) of cisplatin as a 6-h IV infusion. Serum samples and divided urine collections were obtained over 48 h following completion of the cisplatin infusion, and were assayed in duplicate for total platinum by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Serum samples obtained up to 4 h after three cisplatin infusions were assayed for parent (free) cisplatin following ultrafiltration. The mean (+/- SE) elimination half-life of free cisplatin in serum was 1.3 (+/- 0.4) h. Serial serum concentrations of total platinum following 90 mg/m2 dosages were adequately described by a biexponential equation. The mean (+/- SE) serum T 1/2 alpha of total platinum was 0.42 (+/- 0.10) h and the mean (+/- SE) T 1/2 beta was 44.43 (+/- 8.24) h. The intercompartment distribution rate constants of a two-compartment kinetic model indicate extensive tissue accumulation of total platinum, with a rate of transport into tissue compartments (K12) that is about six times the rate of transport out of tissues (K21). The mean (+/- SE) renal clearance of total platinum from 0-3 h was 37.36 (+/- 11.96) ml/min/m2 and 35.8 (+/- 13.6) ml/min/m2 for the 30 mg/m2 and 90 mg/m2 groups, respectively. This value decreased to 3.25 (+/- 0.94) and 2.16 (+/- 0.4) ml/min/m2 for the two groups by the 6-12 h interval, and remained between 1 and 3 ml/min/m2 for the duration of the observation period. The ratio of total platinum clearance to creatinine clearance decreased significantly (P less than 0.05) beginning 3 h post-infusion. The change in renal clearance of total platinum is apparently a function of two independent first-order processes for renal clearance of parent drug and cisplatin metabolites.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Evaluation of enzyme immunoassay, radioassay, and radioimmunoassay of serum methotrexate, as compared with liquid chromatography.

We evaluated three commonly used clinical methods for measuring serum methotrexate: enzyme immunoassay (EMIT), radioassay, and radioimmunoassay. Because potentially interfering compounds can be resolved by liquid chromatography, this method was selected as the comparison method. Patients' serum samples, taken during 24 h after 6-h high-dose infusions, contained methotrexate in concentrations ranging from 10(-7) to 10(-4) mol/L. Chromatograms revealed substantial amounts of 7-hydroxymethotrexate in all samples, actually exceeding methotrexate by 12 and 24 h. Nevertheless, analysis of variance revealed no significant differences in results by any of the four methods, nor did results by the three test methods differ significantly after being adjusted by analysis of covariance with liquid chromatography as the covariate. Evidently any of the four techniques is suitable for monitoring serum methotrexate for 24 h after high-dose therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical pharmacology of bleomycin and cisplatin.

Bleomycin (Blenoxane) and cisplatin (Platinol) are two anticancer drugs with activity for head and neck tumors. Introduced into clinical use in the past ten years, bleomycin is used primarily in the chemotherapy of squamous cell carcinomas, lymphomas, and testicular carcinoma, while cisplatin is effective against testicular and ovarian carcinoma, head and neck cancer, bladder cancer, and neuroblastoma. Bleomycin is rapidly excreted renally (T 1/2 beta = 2-4 hr) although enzymatic inactivation also occurs in many tissues. Cisplatin is nonenzymatically converted to highly protein-bound metabolites, which then undergo renal elimination, but total body clearance occurs much more slowly than with bleomycin (T 1/2 beta = 40-50 hr). Both agents have acute and chronic toxicities; the acute toxicities are generally reversible but cause a great deal of patient discomfort, while the chronic toxicities are often irreversible and dose-limiting. For bleomycin, the acute toxicities are mucocutaneous and pyretic, while severe nausea and vomiting represent the major acute toxicities of cisplatin therapy. Cumulative dose-related pulmonary toxicity is the most serious chronic toxicity of bleomycin. The clinical, radiographic, and pathologic presentations are nonspecific, although identification of high-risk patients may be possible with serial pulmonary function tests. Cumulative nephrotoxicity occurs with cisplatin use and its incidence and severity can be reduced by maintaining adequate hydration and diuresis during and following administration of the drug.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A phase II trial of high-dose methotrexate in previously untreated children and adolescents with high-risk unresectable or metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma.

PURPOSE: The outcome for children with advanced-stage rhabdomyosarcoma remains poor with contemporary treatment regimens. Evaluation of new drugs is important to improve clinical outcome. Because methotrexate has shown promising activity in the treatment of patients with recurrent rhabdomyosarcoma, we conducted a phase II trial in untreated children with advanced-stage disease to evaluate the efficacy and safety of this agent. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients received 1 to 4 courses of high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX, 12 g/m2). Patients then received standard multiagent chemotherapy (vincristine, dactinomycin, cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, mesna) with cytokine support and local radiotherapy. Patients who responded to HDMTX received four additional courses of this drug during continuation therapy. RESULTS: Twelve patients were evaluable for response after 2 or more courses of HDMTX; 4 achieved a partial response (33.3%). After administration of standard chemotherapy and radiation, the estimated 2-year progression-free survival for all patients was 56% (SD 15%). The drug was well-tolerated and the most common side effects included mucositis, transient elevation of transaminases, and neutropenia. The four patients who received additional courses of HDMTX during continuation therapy had limited toxicity which included mucositis, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. CONCLUSIONS: About one-third of children with previously untreated advanced-stage rhabdomyosarcoma responded to HDMTX. Its different mechanism of action and non-overlapping toxicity with other agents make HDMTX an attractive candidate for incorporation into front-line treatment regimens for rhabdomyosarcoma.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A model for dosing gentamicin in children and adolescents that adjusts for tissue accumulation with continuous dosing.

The pharmacokinetics of gentamicin were evaluated in 50 children and adolescents during a multiple dose course of therapy. Parameters of a 2-compartment pharmacokinetic model were derived from serial serum concentrations and urinary excretion rates measured for up to 11 days following the last dose of gentamicin administered to 10 of these patients. These parameters were used to simulate changes in serum concentrations and half-lives that would occur during a standard 6-hour dosing interval with continuous dosing. The data indicated that the half-life for decline in serum concentrations after the first dose was 76 +/- 8% of the half-life at steady-state, and that the half-life after the fourth dose exceeded 90% of the steady-state half-life. These underestimations of the steady-state serum half-life were incorporated into a 1-compartment model to simulate steady-state peak and nadir serum concentrations by using pharmacokinetic parameters measured after the first dose of gentamicin administered to 40 patients. Steady-state serum concentrations predicted by the true 1-compartment model and by the adjusted model were compared with concentrations measured at steady-state. The concentrations predicted by the former model were significantly different from and consistently less than measured concentrations. Concentrations predicted by the adjusted model were not significantly different from concentrations measured at steady-state. These data indicate that the new model offers a simple and more accurate method of simulating steady-state concentrations from pharmacokinetil for individualising therapy.

Adolescent↗