The disposition of carboplatin in ovarian cancer patients

Summary

Carboplatin was given as a 30-min infusion to 11 ovarian cancer patients at doses of 170–500 mg/m². The ages, weights, and creatinine clearances (Cl_cr) ranged from 44 to 75 years, from 44 to 74 kg, and from 32 to 101 ml/min, respectively. Plasma, plasma ultrafiltrate (PU), and urine samples were obtained at appropriate times for 96 h and were analyzed for platinum. The PU and urine were also analyzed for the parent compound by HPLC. In patients with a Cl_cr of about 60 ml/min or greater, carboplatin decayed biexponentially with a mean t_1/2α of 1.6 h and a t_1/2β of 3.0 h. The mean (±SD) residence time, total body clearance, and apparent volume of distribution were 3.5±0.4 h, 4.4±0.85 l/h, and 16±31l, respectively. C_max and AUC_inf values increased linearly with dose, and the latter values correlated better with the dose in mg than in mg/m². No significant quantities of free, ultrafilterable, platinum-containing species other than the parent compound were found in plasma, but platinum from carboplatin became protein-bound and was slowly eliminated with a minimal t_1/2 of 5 days. The major route of elimination was excretion via the kidneys. Patients with a Cl_cr of 60 ml/min or greater excreted 70% of the dose as the parent compound in the urine, with most of this occurring within 12–16 h. All of the platinum in 24-h urine was carboplatin, and only 2%–3% of the dosed platinum was excreted from 48 to 96 h. Patients with a Cl_cr of less than about 60 ml/min exhibited dose-disproportional increases in AUC_inf and MRT values. The latter were inversely related to Cl_cr (r=-0.98). Over a dose range of 300–500 mg/m², carboplatin exhibited linear, dose-independent pharmaco-kinetics in patients with a Cl_cr of about 60 ml/min or greater, but dose reductions are necessary for patients with mild renal failure.