• G J Creemers, C J Gerrits, J R Eckardt, J H Schellens, H A Burris, A S Planting, G I Rodriguez, W J Loos, I Hudson, C Broom, J Verweij, and D D Von Hoff.
• Department of Medical Oncology, Rotterdam Cancer Institute (Daniel den Hoed Kliniek) and University Hospital, the Netherlands.
• J. Clin. Oncol. 1997 Mar 1; 15 (3): 1087-93.

PurposeTopotecan is a specific inhibitor of topoisomerase I. Recently bioavailability of an oral formulation of approximately 30% with limited variability was reported. We conducted a phase I and pharmacokinetic study of the oral formulation of topotecan to characterize the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD), toxicities, pharmacokinetics, and antitumor effects in patients with refractory malignancies.Patients And MethodsPatients were treated with oral topotecan given twice daily for 21 days, with cycles repeated every 28 days. In subsequent cohorts, the dose was escalated from 0.15 to 0.6 mg/m2 twice daily. Pharmacokinetics were performed on day 1 and 8 of the first course using a validated high-performance liquid chromatographic assay and noncompartmental pharmacokinetic methods.ResultsThirty-one patients entered the study; one patient was not assessable for toxicity and response as therapy was prematurely interrupted on request of the patient who had not experienced toxicity. Thirty patients received a total of 59 courses. The dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was reached at a dose of 0.6 mg/m2 twice daily and consisted of diarrhea, which started subacutely at a median onset on day 15 (range, 12 to 20) and resolved after a median of 8 days (range, 7 to 16). Other toxicities were mild, including leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, nausea, and vomiting. The MTD was 0.5 mg/m2 twice daily. No responses were observed. Pharmacokinetics showed a substantial variation of the area under the plasma concentration-time curve at time point "t" [AUC(t)] of topotecan and ring-opened product hydroxyacid. A significant correlation was observed between the percentage of decrease in WBC count versus the AUC(t) of topotecan (r = .75), which was modeled by a sigmoidal maximal effect concentration (Emax) function.ConclusionThe DLT in this phase I study for chronic oral topotecan for 21 days was diarrhea. The recommended dose for phase II studies is 0.5 mg/m2 twice daily.

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