Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Letermovir in Allogenic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation.

Letermovir is a newly developed antiviral agent used for the prophylaxis of human cytomegalovirus infections in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. This novel anti-cytomegalovirus drug, used for the prophylaxis of cytomegalovirus reactivation until approximately 200 days after transplantation, effectively reduces the risk of clinically significant cytomegalovirus infection. No human counterpart exists for the terminase complex; letermovir is virus specific and lacks some toxicities previously observed with other anti-cytomegalovirus drugs, such as cytopenia and nephrotoxicity. The absolute bioavailability of letermovir in healthy individuals is estimated to be 94% based on a population-pharmacokinetic analysis. In contrast, oral administration of letermovir to patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation results in lower exposure than that in healthy individuals. Renal or hepatic impairment does not influence the intrinsic clearance of letermovir. Co-administration of letermovir may alter the plasma concentrations of other drugs, including itself, as it acts as a substrate and inhibitor/inducer of several drug-metabolizing enzymes and transporters. In particular, attention should be paid to the drug-drug interactions between letermovir and calcineurin inhibitors or azole antifungal agents, which are commonly used in patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation. This article reviews and summarizes the clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of letermovir, focusing on patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation, healthy individuals, and specific patient subsets.

Eye-tracking-based analysis of pharmacists' thought processes in the dispensing work: research related to the efficiency in dispensing based on right-brain thinking.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists should be aware of their thought processes in dispensing work, including differences in the dispensing complexities owing to different drug positions in the left, center, and right areas. Dispensing errors associated with "same-name drugs (a pair of drugs with the same name but a different ingredient quantity)" are prevalent and often negatively affect patients. In this study, using five pairs of comparative models, the gaze movements of pharmacists in dispensing work were analyzed using an eye-tracking method to elucidate their thought processes. METHODS: We prepared verification slides and displayed them on a prescription monitor and three drug rack monitors. The dispensing information (drug name, drug usage, location display, and total amount) was displayed on a prescription monitor. A total of 180 drugs including five target drugs were displayed on the three drug rack monitors. Total gaze points in the prescription area, those in the drug rack area, total vertical movements between the two areas, and time required to dispense drugs were measured as the four classifications Gaze 1, Gaze 2, Passage, and Time, respectively. First, we defined the two types of location displays as "numeral combination" and "color/symbol combination." Next, we defined two pairs of models A1-A2 (numerals) and B1-B2 (color/symbol) to compare differences between the left and right areas. Moreover, three pairs of models C1-C2 (left), D1-D2 (center), and E1-E2 (right) were established to compare differences between "numeral combination" and "color/symbol combination." RESULTS: Significant differences in the complexities of dispensing work were observed in Gaze 2, Passage, and Time between the models A1-A2 (A1B2), and in Gaze 2 and Time between the models C1-C2, D1-D2, and E1-E2 (C1>C2, D1>D2, and E1>E2, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Using the current dispensing rules, pharmacists are not good at dispensing drugs located in the right area. An effective measure for reducing the dispensing complexity is to introduce visual information in the prescription content; the utilization of the right brain facilitates reducing the complexity in the right dispensing area.

Factors Influencing Serum Posaconazole Concentrations in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies Receiving Delayed-Release Tablets.

BACKGROUND: Posaconazole (PCZ) plays a crucial role in the prophylaxis and treatment of invasive fungal infections in hematologic malignancies. PCZ concentrations reportedly vary among patients receiving delayed-release tablets (DRT). However, the factors influencing these concentrations remain insufficiently elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the factors influencing PCZ concentrations and their effect on the probability of target attainment (PTA) using a population pharmacokinetic (PPK) approach. We also explored the relationship between PCZ exposure and hepatotoxicity. METHODS: This retrospective study included adult patients with hematologic malignancies who received PCZ DRT. A PPK model was developed based on observational data for 130 concentrations in 28 patients. Simulation analyses were performed to assess the PTA at standard doses of 0.7 and 1.0 mg/L for prophylaxis and treatment, respectively. Estimated concentrations were used to evaluate the correlation between PCZ exposure and hepatotoxicity. RESULTS: Significant factors influencing PCZ concentrations included body weight, serum total protein levels, and diarrhea. Diarrhea correlated with decreased PCZ concentrations resulting in up to 26% lower PTA compared with that without diarrhea. Moreover, PTA declined markedly as the total protein levels decreased from 6.6 g/dL to 4.4 g/dL. The incidence of hepatotoxicity was 17.4% (4/23); no significant relationship could be established between the PCZ concentrations and hepatotoxicity (P = 0.188). CONCLUSIONS: We identified the factors affecting PCZ exposure, which could not be detected by PPK analysis using data from clinical trials. Our results suggest that the generally recommended dose of PCZ causes underexposure in patients with hematologic malignancies characterized by high body weight, hypoproteinemia, or concurrent diarrhea. Therapeutic drug monitoring for DRT may be recommended, especially in patients with these risk factors.

Risk Factors of Cetuximab-Induced Hypomagnesemia and the Effect of Magnesium Prophylaxis in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer: A Retrospective Study.

Hypomagnesemia is a characteristic adverse event of cetuximab in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). However, there is limited information about its prevalence, risk factors, and preventive strategies. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of hypomagnesemia and examine the preventive effects of prophylactic magnesium (Mg) administration. We initially investigated HNC patients treated with cetuximab between 2013 and 2019. Our institute started prophylactic Mg treatment (20-mEq Mg sulfate administration before cetuximab) in practice during this period. We retrospectively assess the preventive efficacy by comparing patients before and after its implementation. In total, 109 patients were included. In 60 patients without prophylaxis, all-grade and grade ≥2 hypomagnesemia at 3 months occurred in 61.7 and 15.0% of patients. The incidence of hypomagnesemia was not affected by regimens and concomitant medications. In 49 patients treated with prophylactic Mg treatment, there was no significant decrease in the cumulative incidence of hypomagnesemia. However, the preventive Mg treatment eliminated the need for additional Mg repletion to maintain Mg levels in patients treated with paclitaxel + cetuximab. A risk factor in patients without prophylaxis was a low Mg level at pre-treatment (≤2.0 mg/dL) (odds ratio: 6.03, 95% confidence interval: 1.78-20.4, p = 0.004), whereas that in patients with prophylaxis was the number of cetuximab doses (≥10) (odds ratio: 5.50, 95% confidence interval: 1.52-19.87, p = 0.009). In conclusion, a low pre-treatment Mg level was the only risk factor that could be avoided by prophylactic Mg administration. This preventive intervention is recommended for managing cetuximab-induced hypomagnesemia.

Systematic surveillance of immune-related adverse events in clinical practice and impact of subsequent steroid medication on survival outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have highlighted the need for effective management of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). This study aimed to conduct a systematic surveillance of real-world development of irAEs for understanding their characteristics and examine the prognostic impact of steroid use for these events. METHODS: We retrospectively investigated cancer patients treated with ICIs between 2014 and 2021 and collected information about irAEs throughout their development, management, and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Overall, 458 patients (45.4%) developed 670 irAEs. The prevalence of irAEs varied by cancer type, but it was increased in regimens with longer treatment durations. Severe irAEs were more common in the nivolumab + ipilimumab and pembrolizumab + axitinib regimens. Patients who received steroids for irAEs at a dosage of < 2 mg/kg had comparable prognosis to those who did not receive steroids; however, patients who received methylprednisolone pulse therapy, primarily for severe pneumonitis and hepatitis, had shorter overall survival than those who did not receive steroids (7.8 versus 23.4 months, p = 0.016). Furthermore, methylprednisolone pulse therapy for irAEs was a poor prognostic factor in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio: 2.19, 95% confidence interval: 1.34-2.86, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Steroid treatment for irAE does not affect prognosis and should thus be used promptly to control inflammation. However, pulse therapy for severe cases is a poor prognostic factor, and early detection remains the key to managing such irAEs. The irAE characteristics in each regimen should be clarified to establish and provide more sophisticated irAE management, and the current findings will be beneficial to this goal.

Population Pharmacokinetic Analysis of Drug-Drug Interactions Between Perampanel and Carbamazepine Using Enzyme Induction Model in Epileptic Patients.

BACKGROUND: Perampanel (PER) is an oral antiepileptic drug and its concomitant use with carbamazepine (CBZ) leads to decreased PER concentrations. However, the magnitude of its influence may vary, depending on the dynamics of the enzyme induction properties of CBZ. This study aimed to develop a population pharmacokinetic (PPK) model considering the dynamics of enzyme induction and evaluate the effect of CBZ on PER pharmacokinetics. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data on patient background, laboratory tests, and prescribed drugs from electronic medical records. We developed 2 PPK models incorporating the effect of CBZ-mediated enzyme induction to describe time-concentration profiles of PER using the following different approaches: (1) treating the concomitant use of CBZ as a categorical covariate (empirical PPK model) and (2) incorporating the time-course of changes in the amount of enzyme by CBZ-mediated induction (semimechanistic PPK model). The bias and precision of the predictions were investigated by calculating the mean error, mean absolute error, and root mean squared error. RESULTS: A total of 133 PER concentrations from 64 patients were available for PPK modelling. PPK analyses showed that the co-administration of CBZ increased the clearance of PER. Goodness-of-fit plots indicated a favorable description of the observed data and low bias. The mean error, mean absolute error, and root mean square error values based on the semimechanistic model were smaller than those obtained using the empirical PPK model for predicting PER concentrations in patients with CBZ. CONCLUSIONS: We developed 2 PPK models to describe PER pharmacokinetics based on different approaches, using electronic medical record data. Our PPK models support the use of PER in clinical practice.

Population pharmacokinetic model and dosing optimization of vancomycin in hematologic malignancies with neutropenia and augmented renal clearance.

AIM: Data on the pharmacokinetics (PK) and area under the curve (AUC)-based dosing strategy of vancomycin (VCM) in hematologic malignancies are limited. According to our preliminary narrative review, only a few population PK analyses in hematologic malignancies have been performed. Therefore, we aimed to develop a population PK model, investigate the factors influencing VCM PK, and propose an optimal dosing regimen for hematologic malignancies. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in patients with underlying hematologic malignancies treated with VCM. A total of 148 patients were enrolled for population PK modeling. Simulation analyses were performed to identify dosing regimens achieving a target exposure of AUC0-24 of 400-600 mg h/L at the steady-state. RESULTS: The VCM PK data were best described with a one-compartment model. Significant covariates included creatinine clearance (Ccr), diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and neutropenia on VCM clearance (CL), and body weight (WT) on the volume of distribution (Vd). The typical values of CL and Vd were 3.09 L/h (normalized to Ccr value of 90 mL/min) and 122 L/70 kg, respectively. Concerning the effect on VCM dosing, AML patients required 15% higher doses than non-AML patients, independently of renal function. In contrast, for neutropenic patients, only those with augmented renal clearance (ARC, Ccr value ≥ 130 mL/min) required a 10% dose increase compared to non-neutropenic patients. CONCLUSION: AML patients with neutropenia and ARC represent a critical population with a higher risk of VCM underexposure. Thus, individualized dosing adjustment and therapeutic drug monitoring are strongly recommended.

Analysis of the thinking process of pharmacists in response to changes in the dispensing environment using the eye-tracking method.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacists must understand the mechanisms by which dispensing errors occur and take appropriate preventive measures. In this study, the gaze movements of pharmacists were analyzed using an eye-tracking method, to elucidate the thinking process of pharmacists when identifying target drugs and avoiding dispensing errors. METHODS: We prepared verification slides and projected them on a large screen. Each slide comprised a drug rack area and a prescription area; the former consisted of a grid-like layout with 55 drugs and the latter displayed dispensing information (drug name, drug usage, location number, and total amount). Twelve pharmacists participated in the study, and three single-type drugs and six double-type drugs were used as target drugs. We analyzed the pharmacists' method of identifying the target drugs, the mechanisms by which errors occurred, and the usefulness of drug photographs using the error-induction (-) /photo (+), error-induction (+) / (+), and error-induction (+) /photo (-) models. RESULTS: Visual invasion by non-target drugs was found to have an effect on the subsequent occurrence of dispensing errors. In addition, when using error-induction models, the rate of dispensing error was 2.8 and 11.1% for the photo (+) and photo (-) models, respectively. Furthermore, based on the analysis of eight pharmacists who dispensed drugs without errors, it was clear that additional confirmation of "drug name" was required to accurately identify the target drug in the photo (+) model; additionally, that of "location number" was required to pinpoint directly the position of target drug in the photo (-) model. CONCLUSIONS: By analyzing the gaze movements of pharmacists using the eye-tracking method, we clarified pharmacists' thinking process which was required to avoid dispensing errors in a complicated environment and proved the usefulness of drug photographs in terms of both reducing the complexity of the dispensing process and the risk of dispensing errors. Effective measures to prevent dispensing errors include ensuring non-adjacent placement of double-type drugs and utilization of their image information.

Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Fostamatinib and Its Active Moiety R406.

Fostamatinib is the first approved spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor for chronic immune thrombocytopenia. This review summarizes the clinical development, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug-drug interactions, adverse events, and comprehensive analyses of fostamatinib. While integrating these findings, we discuss the fostering and improvement of fostamatinib for further clinical applications. Fostamatinib is designed as a prodrug and cleavage of its active moiety R406 in the intestine. As R406 is the major product in the blood, this review mainly discusses the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of R406. It is metabolized by cytochrome 3A4 and UGT1A9 in the liver and is dominantly excreted in feces after anaerobic modification by the gut microbiota. As fostamatinib and R406 strongly inhibit the breast cancer resistance protein, the interaction with those substrates, particularly statins, should be carefully monitored. In patients with immune thrombocytopenia, fostamatinib administration started at 100 mg twice daily, and most patients increased to 150 mg twice daily in the clinical trial. Although responders showed a higher R406 concentration than non-responders, the correlation between R406 exposure and achievement of the platelet count as a pharmacodynamic marker was uncertain in the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis. Additionally, R406 concentration was almost halved in patients with a heavy body weight; hence, the exposure-efficacy study for suitable dosing should be continued with post-marketing data. In contrast, the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis for exposure safety revealed that R406 exposure significantly correlated with the incidence of hypertension. Even though the influence of elevated exposure on other toxicities, including diarrhea and neutropenia, is still unclear, careful management is required with dose escalation to avoid toxicity-related discontinuation.

Usefulness of Medication Guidance Sheets for Patients With Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Receiving ESHAP±R Therapy.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The occurrence of chemotherapy-related serious adverse events (AEs) is associated with a poor prognosis of hematopoietic malignancies. We have developed a medication guidance sheet (MGS) for monitoring AEs occurring when combining chemotherapy with etoposide, methylprednisolone, cisplatin, cytarabine, and rituximab (ESHAP±R). In this study, the usefulness of MGS was investigated in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The MGS was used to monitor AEs in 48 adult patients receiving ESHAP±R. The prediction accuracy of the MGS was estimated before and after modification based on practical data. RESULTS: A total of 246 AEs developed, all of which were predicted by the MGS. Among them, 149 events (61%) occurred during the same period as those predicted by the MGS. After modification of MGS for the onset and duration of AEs, the accuracy increased to 84%. CONCLUSION: The accuracy of the original MGS for ESHAP±R was insufficient but greatly improved after the AEs duration modification.

Development and Validation of an LC-MS/MS Method to Quantify Gilteritinib and Its Clinical Application in Patients With FLT3 Mutation-Positive Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.

BACKGROUND: Gilteritinib, a novel oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) mutations. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) of gilteritinib is important for improving clinical outcomes and ensuring safety. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a simplified method for quantifying gilteritinib in human plasma using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. METHODS: Liquid chromatography was performed by using an Acquity BEH C18 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 1.7 µm) and a gradient elution with 0.1% formic acid in water (A) and acetonitrile (B). Detection was performed by using a Shimadzu tandem mass spectrometer through multiple reaction monitoring in the positive-ion mode. RESULTS: The developed method enabled quantification of gilteritinib in 4 minutes and was validated by evaluating selectivity, calibration curve (10-1000 ng/mL, r 2 > 0.99), a lower limit of quantification (LLOQ), accuracy (overall bias -4.2% to 1.9%), precision (intraday CV ≤ 7.9%; interday CV ≤ 13.6%), carryover, recovery, matrix effect, dilution integrity, and stability according to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. This method was successfully applied to the TDM of gilteritinib trough concentrations in 3 patients with AML. CONCLUSIONS: The developed method fulfilled the FDA guideline criteria and can easily be implemented to facilitate TDM in patients receiving gilteritinib in a clinical setting.

Detection of overdose and underdose prescriptions-An unsupervised machine learning approach.

Overdose prescription errors sometimes cause serious life-threatening adverse drug events, while underdose errors lead to diminished therapeutic effects. Therefore, it is important to detect and prevent these errors. In the present study, we used the one-class support vector machine (OCSVM), one of the most common unsupervised machine learning algorithms for anomaly detection, to identify overdose and underdose prescriptions. We extracted prescription data from electronic health records in Kyushu University Hospital between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2019. We constructed an OCSVM model for each of the 21 candidate drugs using three features: age, weight, and dose. Clinical overdose and underdose prescriptions, which were identified and rectified by pharmacists before administration, were collected. Synthetic overdose and underdose prescriptions were created using the maximum and minimum doses, defined by drug labels or the UpToDate database. We applied these prescription data to the OCSVM model and evaluated its detection performance. We also performed comparative analysis with other unsupervised outlier detection algorithms (local outlier factor, isolation forest, and robust covariance). Twenty-seven out of 31 clinical overdose and underdose prescriptions (87.1%) were detected as abnormal by the model. The constructed OCSVM models showed high performance for detecting synthetic overdose prescriptions (precision 0.986, recall 0.964, and F-measure 0.973) and synthetic underdose prescriptions (precision 0.980, recall 0.794, and F-measure 0.839). In comparative analysis, OCSVM showed the best performance. Our models detected the majority of clinical overdose and underdose prescriptions and demonstrated high performance in synthetic data analysis. OCSVM models, constructed using features such as age, weight, and dose, are useful for detecting overdose and underdose prescriptions.

Effects of Letermovir and/or Methylprednisolone Coadministration on Voriconazole Pharmacokinetics in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: A Population Pharmacokinetic Study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting blood concentrations of voriconazole following letermovir coadministration using population pharmacokinetic (PPK) analysis in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) recipients. METHODS: The following data were retrospectively collected: voriconazole trough levels, patient characteristics, concomitant drugs, and laboratory information. PPK analysis was performed with NONMEM® version 7.4.3, using the first-order conditional estimation method with interaction. We collected data on plasma voriconazole steady-state trough concentrations at 216 timepoints for 47 patients. A nonlinear pharmacokinetic model with the Michaelis-Menten equation was applied to describe the relationship between steady-state trough concentration and daily maintenance dose of voriconazole. After stepwise covariate modeling, the final model was evaluated using a goodness-of-fit plot, case deletion diagnostics, and bootstrap methods. RESULTS: The maximum elimination rate (Vmax) of voriconazole in patients coadministered letermovir and methylprednisolone was 1.72 and 1.30 times larger than that in patients not coadministered these drugs, respectively, resulting in decreased voriconazole trough concentrations. The developed PPK model adequately described the voriconazole trough concentration profiles in allo-HSCT recipients. Simulations clearly showed that increased daily doses of voriconazole were required to achieve an optimal trough voriconazole concentration (1-5 mg/L) when patients received voriconazole with letermovir and/or methylprednisolone. CONCLUSIONS: The development of individualized dose adjustment is critical to achieve optimal voriconazole concentration, especially among allo-HSCT recipients receiving concomitant letermovir and/or methylprednisolone.

Prognostic significance of pre-treatment ALBI grade in advanced non-small cell lung cancer receiving immune checkpoint therapy.

The liver is an essential organ for regulating innate and acquired immunity. We hypothesized that the pre-treatment hepatic function affects the clinical outcome of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We analyzed 140 patients with NSCLC who received ICIs. We investigated the association between pre-treatment liver function, assessed using the albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, and clinical outcomes in univariate, multivariate, and propensity score matching analyses. Patients were divided into four grades according to pre-treatment liver function. Eighty-eight patients had good hepatic reserve (ALBI grade 1 or 2a), whereas 52 patients had poor hepatic reserve (ALBI grade 2b or 3). In the univariate Kaplan-Meier analysis, the ALBI grade 1, 2a group had a significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS, 5.3 versus 2.5 months, p = 0.0019) and overall survival (OS, 19.6 vs. 6.2 months, p = 0.0002). These results were consistent, regardless of whether the analysis was performed in patients with a performance status of 0 or 1 at pre-treatment (N = 124) or in those selected using propensity score matching (N = 76). In the multivariate analysis, pre-treatment ALBI grade was an independent prognostic factor for both PFS (hazard ratio [HR] 0.57, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.38-0.86, p = 0.007) and OS (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.29-0.72, p = 0.001). Our results suggest that pre-treatment hepatic function assessed by ALBI grade could be an essential biomarker for predicting the efficacy of treatment with ICIs in NSCLC.

Development and Full Validation of a Bioanalytical Method for Quantifying Letermovir in Human Plasma Using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Mass Spectrometry.

With the aim of studying the pharmacokinetics of letermovir, which is a newly developed antiviral agent for human cytomegalovirus, a rapid and simple ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS) method was developed and validated for the quantification of letermovir in human plasma. Separation was performed in reverse phase mode using an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (130 Å, 1.7 µm, 2.1 × 50 mm) at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min, 10 mM ammonium acetate-0.1% formic acid solution as mobile phase A, and acetonitrile as mobile phase B with a gradient elution. The method was validated over a linear range of 10-1000 ng/mL with a coefficient of determination (R2) >0.99 using weighted linear regression analysis. The intra- and inter-assay accuracy (nominal%) and precision (relative standard deviation%) were within ±15 and ≤15%, respectively. The specificity, recovery, matrix effect, stability, and dilution integrity of this method were also within acceptable limits. This method could be useful in studying the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, as well as performing the therapeutic drug monitoring of letermovir.

Continuous monitoring of neutrophils to lymphocytes ratio for estimating the onset, severity, and subsequent prognosis of immune related adverse events.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) play a central role in various cancers. ICIs can cause immune-related adverse events (irAEs). As severe irAEs can be life-threatening, biomarkers for estimating irAE onset are crucial. The neutrophils-to-lymphocytes ratio (NLR) reflects the systemic immune condition and known as a prognostic marker in ICI treatment. Our study evaluated if the NLR corresponded with irAEs, and its feasibility as a biomarker for irAE onset. We retrospectively analyzed 275 cancer patients treated with anti-PD-1 monotherapy. We observed 166 irAEs in 121 patients. The NLR was significantly elevated during irAEs. Patients experiencing interstitial pneumonitis showed NLR elevation 4 weeks before initial symptoms and diagnosis. Analyzing receiver operating characteristics curves revealed that elevated NLR distinguished subsequent pneumonitis severity with high accuracy (AUC 0.93, sensitivity 88.9%, specificity 88.2%, cut-off 2.37, p = 0.0004). After a severe irAE occurred, two NLR trends were observed. Patients who showed a prompt reduction in elevated NLRs had favorable progression-free survival (hazard ratio 0.32, 95% CI 0.10-1.01, p = 0.0140) and overall survival (hazard ratio 0.23, 95% CI 0.06-0.86, p = 0.0057) compared to the patients who maintained elevated NLRs. These findings suggest that continuous monitoring of NLR trends may predict irAE onset and severity and subsequent prognosis.

Risk Factors for Gemcitabine-Induced Vascular Pain in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral intravenous injection of gemcitabine often causes vascular pain; however, preventive measures have not yet been established. OBJECTIVES: This study focused on identifying predictive factors for gemcitabine-induced vascular pain. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed risk factors for developing vascular pain in patients with pancreatic cancer receiving gemcitabine infusions at our institution. Infusions were divided into groups according to presence or absence of vascular pain symptoms, and variables were compared. Odds ratios for risk factors were calculated using logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Overall, 272 patients with pancreatic cancer were subjected to 725 gemcitabine infusions, and of these, 18.4% (n = 50) experienced vascular pain. There were significant differences in the gemcitabine dose (P = 0.025), dose of gemcitabine/body surface area (BSA; P = 0.004), concentration of gemcitabine (P = 0.025), and hot pack use (P = 0.011) between the vascular pain and no vascular pain groups. Multivariable analyses indicated that gemcitabine dose/BSA and lack of hot pack use were risk factors for developing vascular pain. Moreover, on administration of a higher dosage (>930 mg/m2), the incidence of vascular pain in patients using a hot pack (6.7%) was significantly lower than that in patients not provided a hot pack (16.2%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: High gemcitabine dosages and lack of hot pack use were predictive factors for gemcitabine-induced vascular pain in patients with pancreatic cancer. Patients receiving gemcitabine treatment should apply a hot pack to the injection site. Scrupulous clinical attention is required for patients presenting with these risk factors to improve pain management.

Association of lenvatinib plasma concentration with clinical efficacy and adverse events in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the association between the trough plasma concentration of lenvatinib with the objective response rate (ORR) and adverse events in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: Twenty-one patients with HCC who received lenvatinib were enrolled. We examined the median trough concentration (Ctrough median) of plasma lenvatinib until the first clinical response evaluation. The receiver-operating characteristic curve was drawn to show the discrimination potential of the Ctrough median for the ORR, using the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. Adverse events were graded based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (ver. 5.0). RESULTS: The Ctrough median values in the complete response and partial response group were significantly higher than those in the stable disease and progressive disease groups. The ORR was significantly higher in the high-Ctrough median group (≥ 42.68 ng/mL) than in the low-Ctrough median group (< 42.68 ng/mL) (80.0% vs. 18.2%; p = 0.0089). Although there was no difference in the occurrence of most adverse events between the high- and low-Ctrough median groups, the occurrence of any grade anorexia (100.0% vs. 45.5%; p = 0.0124) and grade 3 serious hypertension (70.0% vs. 18.2%; p = 0.0300) was significantly higher in the high-Ctrough median group than in the low-Ctrough median group. Multivariate analysis showed that high-Ctrough median was significantly associated with ORR development (odds ratio, 15.00; 95% confidence interval, 1.63-138.16; p = 0.0168). CONCLUSION: Maintaining Ctrough median above 42.68 ng/mL was crucial for achieving the ORR in patients with HCC.

Effects of Concomitant Administration of Vonoprazan Fumarate on the Tacrolimus Blood Concentration in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Vonoprazan fumarate (vonoprazan) is a new kind of acid suppressant with potent acid inhibitory effects. Therefore, it has been administered to kidney transplant recipients for treatment or prophylaxis of steroid ulcers, refractory peptic ulcers, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Because tacrolimus, which is a well-established immunosuppressant for kidney transplantation, and vonoprazan share the CYP3A4 system for metabolism, drug interactions are anticipated upon simultaneous administration. We retrospectively analyzed 52 kidney transplant recipients who were converted from rabeprazole, which has a small effect on the tacrolimus trough blood concentration (C0), to vonoprazan between August 2016 and July 2019. We compared the tacrolimus C0/tacrolimus dose (C0/D) before and after conversion and serum liver enzymes, serum total bilirubin, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). As a result, mean tacrolimus C0/D before and after conversion was 1.98 ± 1.02 and 2.19 ± 1.15 (ng/mL)/(mg/d), respectively, (p < 0.001). Additionally, mean aspartate transaminase (AST) before and after conversion was 18.6 ± 4.2 and 19.6 ± 5.2 IU/L, respectively, (p = 0.037). Mean alanine transaminase (ALT) before and after conversion was 15.8 ± 5.5 and 17.6 ± 7.1 IU/L, respectively, (p = 0.007). Mean eGFR before and after conversion was 50.6 ± 14.4 and 51.4 ± 14.7 mL/min/1.73 m2, respectively (p = 0.021). Mean AST, ALT, and eGFR were slightly but significantly elevated within normal ranges after conversion. In conclusion, our study suggests that the mean tacrolimus C0/D was elevated significantly by converting from rabeprazole to vonoprazan, but it had little clinical significance. Vonoprazan can be administered safely to kidney transplant recipients receiving tacrolimus.

[Significant Changes Associated with the Transition from Outsourcing to In-hospital Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Novel Antiepileptics].

For many of the novel antiepileptics, immunoassays, used for routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), cannot be used. We could monitor eight novel antiepileptics using an LC/MS method since July 2017. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the significant changes associated with the transition from outsourcing to in-hospital monitoring of novel antiepileptics. The number of measurements of novel antiepileptics was significantly increased during the first (p<0.01) and second (p<0.001) years of in-hospital monitoring as compared to that one year prior to in-hospital monitoring which was outsourced. The proportion of measurements of novel antiepileptics to all antiepileptics was 19.7%, 31.1%, and 38.4% during outsourcing, and first, and second years of in-hospital monitoring, respectively. The measurement cost was significantly reduced during the first (p<0.001) and second (p<0.001) years of in-hospital monitoring as compared to that during outsourcing. In addition, the revenue from TDM of antiepileptic drugs was significantly increased during the first (p<0.05) and second (p<0.01) years of in-hospital monitoring as compared with that during outsourcing. In conclusion, the switch from outsourcing to in-hospital monitoring led to an increase in the number of orders, a reduction in the measurement-related expenses of novel antiepileptics, and an increase in the revenue from TDM of antiepileptic drugs, which could promote the proper use of novel antiepileptics through TDM.