A pilot study of bevacizumab combined with etoposide and cisplatin in breast cancer patients with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.

BACKGROUND: Elevated vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was associated with poor prognosis in leptomeningeal carcinomatosis and anti-angiogenic therapy was found to prolong the survival of mice in preclinical studies. This prospective pilot study investigated the efficacy of anti-VEGF therapy plus chemotherapy in patients with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis originating from breast cancer. METHODS: Eligible patients were scheduled to receive bevacizumab combined with etoposide and cisplatin (BEEP) every 3 weeks for a maximum of 6 cycles or until unacceptable toxicity. The primary objective was the central nervous system (CNS)-specific response rate, which was defined as disappearance of cancer cells in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and an improved or stabilized neurologic status. The impact of VEGF inhibition on etoposide penetration into the CSF was analyzed. RESULTS: Eight patients were enrolled. The CNS-specific response rate was 60% in 5 evaluable patients. According to intent-to-treat analysis, the median overall survival of the eight patients was 4.7 months (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.3-9.0) and the neurologic progression-free survival was 4.7 months (95% CI 0-10.5). The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were neutropenia (23.1%), leukopenia (23.1%), and hyponatremia (23.1%). The etoposide concentrations in the CSF were much lower than those in plasma, and bevacizumab did not increase etoposide delivery to the CSF. CONCLUSIONS: BEEP exhibited promising efficacy in breast cancer patients with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis. Additional studies are warranted to verify its efficacy and clarify the role of anti-angiogenic therapy in this disease. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifying number NCT01281696 .

Quantification of target analytes in various biofluids using a postcolumn infused-internal standard method combined with matrix normalization factors in liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) has become one of the most widely used methods in pharmaceutical laboratories. Although LC-ESI-MS provides high sensitivity and high specificity for quantifying target analytes in complicated biofluids, the associated severe matrix effects (MEs) generally result in large quantification errors. Here, we propose a novel strategy for correcting MEs in various biofluids using a postcolumn infused-internal standard (PCI-IS) method in combination with matrix normalization factors (MNFs). We used the MNFs to normalize the encountered MEs in various biofluids to the MEs encountered in standard solutions. The use of a postcolumn infused-internal standard also corrects the MEs for individual samples. When using the PCI-IS method in combination with MNFs, the calibration curve generated from standard solutions can be applied to quantify the target analytes in various biofluids. We applied this new approach to quantify etoposide and etoposide catechol in plasma and CSF. The accuracy of the test results showed that over 93% of the data have quantification errors less than 20% and that 99% of the data have quantification errors less than 30%. The successful application of this method to evaluate real clinical samples revealed that our proposed MNFs in combination with the PCI-IS method largely simplifies the entire method development and validation processes, saves a great deal of time and cost without sacrificing quantification accuracy, and provides a simple means of quantifying target analytes in various biofluids. This method will be particularly useful in fields in which the same target analytes need to be quantified in various types of matrices, including bioanalysis, forensic toxicology, environmental studies, and food safety control.

Pharmacokinetic analysis of etoposide distribution after administration directly into the fourth ventricle in a piglet model.

We hypothesize that infusion of chemotherapeutic agents directly into the fourth ventricle potentially may play a role in treating malignant posterior fossa brain tumors. Accordingly, we used a piglet model developed in our laboratory to test the safety of etoposide infusions into the fourth ventricle and to study the pharmacokinetics associated with these infusions. In 5 piglets, closed-tip silicone catheters were inserted into the fourth ventricle and lumbar cistern. Five consecutive daily infusions of etoposide (0.5 mg) were administered via the fourth ventricle catheter. Serum and CSF from both catheters were sampled for measurement of etoposide level by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). For CSF samples, area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was calculated. Piglets underwent daily neurological examinations, a 4.7 Tesla MRI scan, and then were sacrificed for post-mortem brain examination. No neurological deficits or signs of meningitis were caused by intraventricular chemotherapy infusions. MRI scans showed catheter placement within the fourth ventricle but no signal changes in the brain stem or cerebellum. In all piglets, the mean fourth ventricular CSF peak etoposide level exceeded the mean peak lumbar etoposide levels by greater than 10-fold. Statistically significant differences between fourth ventricle and lumbar AUC were noted at peaks (DeltaAUC = 3384196 ng h/ml with 95%CI: 1758625, 5009767, P = 0.0044) and at all collection time points (DeltaAUC = 1422977 ng h/ml with 95%CI: 732188, 2113766, P = 0.0046) but not at troughs (DeltaAUC = -29546 ng h/ml (95%CI: -147526, 88434.2, P = 0.5251). Serum etoposide was absent at two and four hours after intraventricular infusions in all animals. Pathological analysis demonstrated meningitis, choroid plexitis, and ependymitis in the fourth and occasionally lateral ventricles. Etoposide can be infused directly into the fourth ventricle without clinical or radiographic evidence of damage. Autopsy examination revealed ventriculitis and meningitis which did not have a clinical correlate. Etoposide does not distribute evenly throughout CSF spaces after administration into the fourth ventricle, and higher peak CSF levels are observed in the fourth ventricle than in the lumbar cistern.

Phase II trial of intracerebrospinal fluid etoposide in the treatment of neoplastic meningitis.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current study was to determine the toxicity and response of a fixed dose intracerebrospinal fluid (CSF) etoposide in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed neoplastic meningitis (NM). NM reportedly occurs in 1% to 5% of patients with known cancer. Currently available treatment options are limited and provide only modest benefit. METHODS: Twenty-seven patients (median age, 55 yrs) with clinically and cytologically documented NM received intra-CSF etoposide. Tumor histologies included lung (8 patients), breast (5 patients), primary brain tumor (4 patients), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (4 patients), melanoma (4 patients), colon (1 patient), and prostate (1 patient). Concurrent involved-field radiotherapy (19 of 27 patients) or systemic chemotherapy (17 of 27 patients) was administered based on clinical indications. Etoposide was administered at a fixed dose (0.5 mg every day given 5 days per week every other week for 8 weeks [induction]). Patients were evaluated by CSF cytology and neurologic examination at the conclusion of induction therapy. Responding patients continued to receive etoposide (5 consecutive days every 4 weeks) with monthly evaluations. RESULTS: Seven of 27 patients (26%) treated with etoposide had a cytologic response and either stable or improved neurologic status at the conclusion of induction. Eight patients (30%) developed disease progression during induction therapy and did not complete the 8-week induction course of therapy. At the conclusion of induction therapy, 12 patients (44%) had persistently positive CSF cytology, although they were clinically stable. In responding patients, time to neurologic disease progression ranged from 8 weeks to 40 weeks (median, 20 wks). Toxicity manifested as transient chemical arachnoiditis (5 of 27 patients; 13% of all treatment cycles). The 6-month neurologic disease progression-free survival was 11%. CONCLUSIONS: Etoposide appears to have modest activity against NM and easily managed toxicity.

Pharmacokinetics of etoposide and carboplatin in cerebrospinal fluid and plasma during hyperosmotic disruption of the blood brain barrier and intraarterial combination chemotherapy.

The present paper investigates the pharmacokinetics of etoposide (VP-16) and carboplatin (CBDCA) in plasma and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), in the space left by tumor removal, of patients with glioma. Eight Japanese patients with glioma received a course of hyperosmotic disruption of the blood-brain barrier (HODBBB) and intraarterial combination chemotherapy with 60 mg/m2 of VP-16 and 300 mg/m2 of CBDCA. All patients were initially administered mannitol, followed by infusion of the anticancer drugs into the right internal carotid artery. Blood samples and samples of CSF in the space left by tumor removal were obtained. VP-16 and CBDCA concentration were measured by HPLC, and the pharmacokinetic parameters of these drugs estimated in CSF and plasma. The plasma concentrations of VP-16 and CBDCA peaked at the end of infusion, then decreased in a bi-exponential decay pattern during the remainder of the treatment period. Both VP-16 and CBDCA were detectable in CSF beginning 0.5 h after the initiation of each infusion, and were then slowly eliminated from the space left by tumor removal. The mean maximum CSF concentration of VP-16 and CBDCA was 0.17 and 15.25% of that in plasma, respectively. The mean area under the time-CSF concentration curve from 0 to 24 h after VP-16 and CBDCA infusion was 1.91 and 113.6% of plasma, respectively. In two of the eight patients, the clinical response to treatment was a partial response and other patients showed no change. HODBBB and intraarterial combination chemotherapy with VP-16 and CBDCA may be useful in patients with brain tumors for maintenance chemotherapy.

Modulation effects of cyclosporine on etoposide pharmacokinetics and CNS distribution in the rat utilizing microdialysis.

In the present study, we evaluated the pharmacokinetics of the chemotherapeutic agent etoposide (ET) under steady-state conditions and examined its extent of distribution into the CNS of conscious animals. An i.v. infusion of 15 mg/kg/hr was administered to nine rats. Each of the nine rats also received the potent multidrug resistance (MDR) modulator cyclosporine (CSA). Upon the addition of CSA, the i.v. treated animals demonstrated a 53% decrease in ET clearance. This decrease resulted in a greater than 2-fold increase in the steady-state concentrations of ET> The corrected brain-blood ratio (BBR (corr)) was 0.36 +/- 0.18 prior to CSA treatment, and although CNS concentrations increased upon the addition of CSA, there was no increase in the BBR(corr) (0.24 +/- 0.10). The present study demonstrates that the increase of ET in the CNS following CSA is a result of a decrease in ET systemic clearance and not an inhibition of ET efflux from the CNS.

Etoposide achieves potentially cytotoxic concentrations in CSF of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

PURPOSE: Although epipodophyllotoxins are commonly used in contemporary treatment regimens for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), their potential role in CNS-directed therapy has received little attention. We prospectively studied 20 children during initial remission of ALL and 16 children at relapse to assess CSF penetration of etoposide. METHODS: Simultaneous plasma and CSF concentrations were assessed at a median of 2.8 hours (range, 0.4 to 5.3) after an intravenous (i.v.) or oral dose in 41 paired samples. RESULTS: Etoposide given at 300 mg/m2 i.v. to patients during first remission and at 50 or 25 mg/m2 orally to those in relapse resulted in median CSF levels of 0.175 mumol/L (range, .066 to 2.12), 0.011 mumol/L (range, .004 to .032), and 0.007 mumol/L (range, .003 to .014), respectively. The CSF etoposide concentration was > or = 10 nmol/L in 20 of 20, five of 10, and two of 11 courses following 300 mg/m2 i.v., 50 mg/m2 orally, and 25 mg/m2 orally, respectively, and was positively related to both the concurrent etoposide plasma concentration (R2 = .64) and to dose (R2 = .73). The median ratio of CSF to plasma concentration was 0.30% (range, 0.09% to 3.12%), which was not related to dose, plasma concentration, or time postdose at which samples were obtained, but was positively correlated with the CSF protein concentration (R2 = 0.43, P = .006). Both the absolute etoposide CSF concentrations (P = .008) and the ratio of CSF to plasma concentrations (P = .023) were higher among first-remission patients who had CSF leukemic blasts at diagnosis compared with those without CSF blasts. CONCLUSION: Because etoposide concentrations as low as 10 nmol/L may be cytotoxic in vitro, prolonged daily oral low-dose (50 mg/m2) or conventional i.v. doses of etoposide may contribute to successful CNS-directed therapy in children with ALL.

Intrathecal administration of etoposide in the treatment of malignant meningitis: feasibility and pharmacokinetic data.

Two patients presenting with malignant meningitis resulting from small-cell carcinoma of the lung and with lymphoblastic leukemia, respectively, were treated by intrathecal administration of etoposide. In both cases, this treatment was well tolerated and produced relief of the central nervous system symptoms. Pharmacokinetic data showed that cerebrospinal fluid drug levels of up to 5.2 micrograms/ml were achieved, which were considerably higher than those obtained after i.v. administration of high-dose etoposide.

[Effect of high-dose cyclophosphamide plus high-dose etoposide in malignant brain tumors of children followed by autologous bone marrow rescue].

Four pediatric patients with malignant brain tumors were treated with very high-dose etoposide plus very high-dose cyclophosphamide (HD-VP 16/CPM) followed by autologous bone marrow rescue. There were two brain stem gliomas, which were refractory to radiation therapy, ACNC, and beta-interferon and two relapsed malignant brain tumors. Both of the two with brain stem gliomas achieved response, one with clinical improvement and decrease of tumor size on CT scanning, the other with clinical improvement. Overall response duration was three months and nine months. Two patients with relapsed brain tumors received HD-VP 16/CPM as adjuvant chemotherapy. Low but significant levels of VP 16 and CPM were detected in CSF. Further investigation of HD-VP 16/CPM is needed as a chemotherapy for malignant brain tumors in children.

[Serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels after high dose of etoposide administrated intravenously]. / Taux sériques et taux dans le liquide céphalo-rachidien après forte dose d'étoposide administrée par voie intraveineuse.

Seric values have been evaluated in 24 patients receiving high doses of etoposide. In 6 patients, CNS value was evaluated simultaneously. After 2 perfusions with 250 mg/m2 at 12 h interval, seric value is 35.3 micrograms/ml + 10.3, the value after 6 perfusions is 31.1 micrograms/ml + 6.5. The variation of CNS value observed from 0.08 to 0.49 micrograms/ml is 0.36 to 1.29% of the seric value; there is no positive correlation with seric value. Only one patient out of 6 has a partial response of CNS metastases.

Etoposide (VP-16-213) in malignant brain tumors: a phase II study.

Twenty-two consecutive patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors after radiation therapy and systemic combination chemotherapy with BCNU and vincristine, four of whom were not evaluable due to early death, were treated with etoposide (VP-16-213) (50-100 mg/m2 for five days every three weeks). Response, defined as improvement in both clinical examination and computed tomography scan in absence of glucocorticoids dosage increase, was observed in three (17%) of 18 evaluable patients, lasting greater than 21, seven, and two months, respectively. Six additional patients had stable disease for greater than 10, seven, four, four, three, and two months: all of them had improvement of clinical symptoms but no variation in their scans. Overall median survival from the start of VP-16-213 was 4.5 months (range, 1-23 + months), whereas patients with response or stable disease had a median survival of eight months. Overall, treatment was well tolerated. In 10 patients concomitant plasma and cerebrospinal fluid samples were evaluated with a high-performance liquid chromatographic method for drug assay. The concentration of VP-16-213 in cerebrospinal fluid was less than 1% that found in plasma, even in the two patients with response. The activity of etoposide in patients with malignant, lomustine-vincristine-resistant brain tumors suggests an interesting potential use for this drug.

Penetration of VP 16-213 into cerebrospinal fluid after high-dose intravenous administration.

VP 16-213 in standard doses is active against a number of solid tumors. Its penetration into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is very limited at these dose levels. In 10 patients treated with high-dose VP 16-213 (0.9-2.5 g/m2), CSF levels of up to 0.54 microgram/mL were detected. In two patients with central nervous system (CNS) metastases of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) a response was seen after 1.0 and 1.5 g/m2 intravenously. High-dose VP 16-213 can possibly play a role in the treatment of CNS metastases of SCLC. Its application in late intensification regimens as a form of prophylaxis of CNS metastases should be investigated.

Pharmacokinetics of high-dose etoposide (VP-16-213) administered to cancer patients.

Plasma urine, and cerebrospinal fluid etoposide concentrations have been measured in 12 adult patients after administration of high-dose (400 to 800 mg/sq m) etoposide in order to determine the pharmacokinetics of this drug at these elevated dosages. Increasing the drug dosage produced proportionally higher peak plasma etoposide concentrations (27 to 114 micrograms/ml) and total areas under the concentration-time curve (9,200 to 48,000 micrograms/ml X min). The etoposide mean (+/- S.D.) terminal half-life of 8.05 +/- 4.3 hr and plasma clearance of 28.0 +/- 9.7 ml/min/sq m, however, were independent of the dosage given. The mean etoposide renal clearance in 5 patients was 10.0 +/- 4.3 ml/min/sq m, representing from 35 to 40% of the total clearance of this drug from plasma. Cerebrospinal fluid etoposide concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 1.4 micrograms/ml, as measured in 6 patients at 1 to 8 hr after high-dose etoposide therapy, and were 1.8 +/- 1.7% of the simultaneously measured plasma levels. Pleural fluid removed from one patient at 18 hr posttherapy contained etoposide at 1.8 micrograms/ml. Our data, combined with data published previously, indicate that the pharmacokinetics of high-dose etoposide is linear within the dosage range tested and similar to that seen with lower drug doses. They also suggest that etoposide penetrates poorly into the cerebrospinal fluid.