Development and Evaluation of a Prototype Mobile Application for Intravenous Drug Dose Calculation in Overweight and Obese Thai Children: Precision Dosing in Practice.

Background: Medication dosing in overweight and obese children often involves complex weight-based calculations, leading to higher dosing errors, particularly with intravenous drugs. Currently, tools to aid in dosage calculations are lacking for these patients, especially in Thai population. Objective: This study aimed to develop a mobile application with the intent of utilizing it as a tool to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of dosing calculations required for obese and overweight Thai children. Methods: The performance of the application was assessed in 3 key aspects using a sample of 30 healthcare professionals. These key aspects included: 1) the accuracy of dosage calculations, assessed through pre- and posttests comparing manual calculations to app-based calculations using a 10-item questionnaire, 2) the time taken for calculations before and after app usage, 3) user satisfaction, which was measured through a questionnaire. Results: The integration of applications into the calculation demonstrated a significant improvement when compared to the manual calculation in both accuracy (6.10 vs 9.33 out of 10, P < .001) and efficiency (10.40 vs 8.53 minutes per 10 questions, P = .008). Also, the application elicited high levels of satisfaction among users, as reflected by an overall mean satisfaction score of 4.57 on a 5-point scale. Conclusion: The integration of this application to assist in dosage calculations for overweight and obese pediatric Thai patients has yielded favorable outcomes concerning accuracy, efficiency, and user satisfaction. Further development should be pursued within a larger cohort, with an emphasis on real-world implementation in clinical settings.

State-of-the-art knowledge on the regulation of advanced therapy medicinal products.

Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) constitute therapeutic agents based on obtained cells, tissues or genes representing a novel treatment opportunity in medicine. In addition, ATMPs are administered into the cells or tissues of humans from the patient's own cells, donors, or genetically modified cells. Recently, the field of developing ATMPs has become a point of attention due to the clinical efficacy expected in defeating incurable diseases such as cancers and neurodegenerative disorders. Currently, there are two modes regarding the distribution of ATMPs. First, ATMPs that might be legally authorized for marketing. Second, the patients are able to access unapproved ATMPs through the hospital exemption (HE) or clinical practice program or through the compassionate use and expanded access program. The aim of this review is to discuss state-of-the-art knowledge on the regulation of ATMPs and provide regulatory recommendations.

A clinical scoring tool validated with machine learning for predicting severe hand-foot syndrome from sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Sorafenib is an effective therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hand-foot syndrome (HFS) is a serious adverse effect associated with sorafenib therapy. This study aimed to develop an updated clinical prediction tool that allows personalized prediction of HFS following sorafenib initiation. METHODS: Individual participant data from Phase III clinical trial NCT00699374 were used in Cox proportional hazard analysis of the association between pre-treatment clinicopathological data and grade ≥ 3 HFS occurring within the first 365 days of sorafenib treatment for advanced HCC. Multivariable prediction models were developed using stepwise forward inclusion and backward deletion and internally validated using a random forest machine learning approach. RESULTS: Of 542 patients, 116 (21%) experienced grades ≥ 3 HFS. The prediction tool was optimally defined by sex (male vs female), haemoglobin (< 130 vs ≥ 130 g/L) and bilirubin (< 10 vs 10-20 vs ≥ 20 µmol/L). The prediction tool was able to discriminate subgroups with significantly different risks of grade ≥ 3 HFS (P ≤ 0.001). The high (score = 3 +)-, intermediate (score = 2)- and low (score = 0-1)-risk subgroups had 40%, 27% and 14% probability of developing grade ≥ 3 HFS within the first 365 days of sorafenib treatment, respectively. CONCLUSION: A clinical prediction tool defined by female sex, high haemoglobin and low bilirubin had high discrimination for predicting HFS risk. The tool may enable improved evaluation of personalized risks of HFS for patients with advanced HCC initiating sorafenib.

Mechanistic Modelling Identifies and Addresses the Risks of Empiric Concentration-Guided Sorafenib Dosing.

The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the capacity of concentration-guided sorafenib dosing protocols to increase the proportion of patients that achieve a sorafenib maximal concentration (Cmax) within the range 4.78 to 5.78 µg/mL. A full physiologically based pharmacokinetic model was built and validated using Simcyp® (version 19.1). The model was used to simulate sorafenib exposure in 1000 Sim-Cancer subjects over 14 days. The capacity of concentration-guided sorafenib dose adjustment, with/without model-informed dose selection (MIDS), to achieve a sorafenib Cmax within the range 4.78 to 5.78 µg/mL was evaluated in 500 Sim-Cancer subjects. A multivariable linear regression model incorporating hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A4 abundance, albumin concentration, body mass index, body surface area, sex and weight provided robust prediction of steady-state sorafenib Cmax (R2 = 0.883; p < 0.001). These covariates identified subjects at risk of failing to achieve a sorafenib Cmax ≥ 4.78 µg/mL with 95.0% specificity and 95.2% sensitivity. Concentration-guided sorafenib dosing with MIDS achieved a sorafenib Cmax within the range 4.78 to 5.78 µg/mL for 38 of 52 patients who failed to achieve a Cmax ≥ 4.78 µg/mL with standard dosing. In a simulation setting, concentration-guided dosing with MIDS was the quickest and most effective approach to achieve a sorafenib Cmax within a designated range.

Effect of early adverse events resulting in sorafenib dose adjustments on survival outcomes of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients.

BACKGROUND: Sorafenib is a current first-line treatment option for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to evaluate the impact of early adverse events (AEs) requiring sorafenib dose adjustment on survival outcomes of patients with advanced HCC. METHODS: The study was a secondary analysis of the phase III clinical trial NCT00699374. A landmark Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to evaluate the association between early AEs requiring sorafenib dose adjustment with survival outcomes. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS) with progression-free survival (PFS) as secondary. RESULTS: AEs requiring sorafenib dose adjustment within the first 28 days of therapy were significantly associated with OS (HR [95% CI]; dose interruption = 0.9 [0.7-1.2]; dose reduction = 0.6 [0.5-0.9]; discontinuation = 1.7 [0.9-3.4]; P = 0.005). No statistically significant association with PFS was identified (P = 0.148). CONCLUSION: Sorafenib dose interruptions and reduction due to AEs did not compromise the survival outcomes of patient with advanced HCC. Patients who required a sorafenib dose reduction were observed to have more favourable OS compared to those who did not experience an AE which required a dose adjustment.

The effect of proton pump inhibitors on survival outcomes in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with sorafenib.

PURPOSE: Sorafenib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and first-line treatment option for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Preliminary evidence indicates proton pump inhibitors (PPI) may affect the absorption of TKIs through decreased gut dissolution. This study aims to evaluate the impact of PPI use on the survival outcomes of advanced HCC patients treated with sorafenib. METHODS: The study was a secondary analysis of individual-participant data from the phase III clinical trial NCT00699374. Cox proportional hazard analysis was used to evaluate the association between baseline PPI use and survival outcomes. Overall survival (OS) was the primary outcome with progression-free survival (PFS) secondary. RESULTS: In a cohort of 542 advanced HCC patients initiating sorafenib treatment, 122 were concomitantly using a PPI at baseline. No significant associations between baseline PPI use and OS were identified on univariable (HR [95% CI]; 1.01 [0.80-1.28], P = 0.93) and adjusted (1.10 [0.82-1.41], P = 0.62) analysis. Furthermore, no significant associations between baseline PPI use and PFS were identified on univariable (0.96 [0.76-1.21], P = 0.73) and adjusted (1.11 [0.86-1.44], P = 0.41) analysis. CONCLUSION: In a large high-quality dataset, PPI use was not observed to compromise the survival outcomes of advanced HCC patients initiated on sorafenib.

Plasma extracellular nanovesicle (exosome)-derived biomarkers for drug metabolism pathways: a novel approach to characterize variability in drug exposure.

AIMS: Demonstrate the presence of cytochrome P450 (CYP) and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) proteins and mRNAs in isolated human plasma exosomes and evaluate the capacity for exosome-derived biomarkers to characterize variability in CYP3A4 activity. METHODS: The presence of CYP and UGT protein and mRNA in exosomes isolated from human plasma and HepaRG cell culture medium was determined by mass spectrometry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The concordance between exosome-derived CYP3A4 biomarkers and midazolam apparent oral clearance (CL/F) was evaluated in a small proof-of-concept study involving six genotyped (CYP3A4 *1/*1 and CYP3A5 *3/*3) Caucasian males. RESULTS: Exosomes isolated from human plasma contained peptides and mRNA originating from CYP 1A2, 2B6, 2C8, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1, 2 J2, 3A4 and 3A5, UGT 1A1, 1A3, 1A4, 1A6, 1A9, 2B4, 2B7, 2B10 and 2B15, and NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase. Mean (95% confidence interval) exosome-derived CYP3A4 protein expression pre- and post-rifampicin dosing was 0.24 (0.2-0.28) and 0.42 (0.21-0.65) ng ml-1 exosome concentrate. Mean (95% confidence interval) exosome CYP3A4 mRNA expression pre- and post-rifampicin dosing was 6.0 (1.1-32.7) and 48.3 (11.3-104) × 10-11 2-ΔΔCt , respectively. R2 values for correlations of exosome-derived CYP3A4 protein expression, CYP3A4 mRNA expression, and ex vivo CYP3A4 activity with midazolam CL/F were 0.905, 0.787 and 0.832, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent strong concordance was observed between exosome-derived CYP3A4 biomarkers and midazolam CL/F. The significance of these results is that CYP3A4 is the drug-metabolizing enzyme of greatest clinical importance and variability in CYP3A4 activity is poorly described by existing precision dosing strategies.