Investigations on the subclinical and clinical nephrotoxicity of interferon alpha-2B in patients with myeloproliferative syndromes.

Since the introduction of interferon alpha-2b (IFN alpha-2b) into clinical oncology there have been several reports dealing with acute renal failure during therapy with this new type of anticancer drug. We investigated 58 patients (pts) with myeloproliferative syndromes (56 pts with chronic myelogenous leukemia, 2 pts with essential thrombocythemia) who were treated with 4 x 10(6) IU IFN alpha-2b each day subcutaneously. In order to assess the nephrotoxic potential we used the following noninvasive methods: 1. Analysis of the excretion of 4 urinary enzymes (LDH, LAP, GGT, NAG), 2. Determination of the excretion of protein, albumin, alpha-1-microglobulin immunoglobulin G (Ig G), 3. serum creatinine. The investigations were done every 2 weeks and took 70 weeks. We found an increase in the excretion of all 4 enzymes which remained stable during the whole observation period, protein excretion was pathological in about 20% of all pts and reached values of up to 9.07 g/L alpha-1-microglobulin was excreted in pathological amounts in about 20% of all pts during the whole observation period, albumin was found in pathological quantities in about 15% of all pts and Ig G was pathologically increased in the urine in about 10% of the pts. Serum creatinine rose in 5-10% of the pts up to 1.5 mg/dL. In conclusion, IFN alpha-2b is capable of inducing combined glomerular and tubular damage. Therefore, avoiding additional nephrotoxic insults is desirable.

Investigations on the acute and chronic nephrotoxicity of the new platinum analogue carboplatin.

In order to detect even subclinical hints of nephrotoxicity after application of carboplatin, sensitive non-invasive methods, e.g. determination of urinary enzyme (lactate dehydrogenase, leucine aminopeptidase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase), glomerular and tubular protein excretion (albumin, alpha-1-microglobulin) and determination of the creatinine clearance, were used. Eighteen patients with small-cell lung cancer entered the study. All patients were treated with the three-drug combination chemotherapy: vincristine (1.5 mg i.v. on days 1, 8, 15, 22), etopside (escalating doses: 100-160 mg/m2 on days 1-3) and carboplatin (300 mg/m2 day 1). Investigations were made during the first, third and fifth treatment cycles. Deterioration of renal function occurred in 4 out of 18 patients in all three observed treatment courses. Abnormal amounts in the excretion of at least one of four urinary enzymes were found in 6 out of 18 patients during the first cycle and in 4 out of 8 patients during the third and fifth cycles. All patients with pathological enzymuria during the first treatment course also developed an increased enzymuria during cycles 3 and 5. Four patients developed pathological proteinuria during the first and 2 patients during the third and fifth cycles. These findings demonstrate that the new platinum analogue, carboplatin, is capable of inducing renal damage. In comparison with cisplatinum, the nephrotoxicity of this new analogue is reduced but not completely eliminated.

Folate nephropathy occurring during cytotoxic chemotherapy with high-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil.

High-dose folinic acid with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is a novel combination chemotherapy used in the treatment of metastatic gastrointestinal cancer. One of the mechanisms of action of 5-FU is its conversion into fluorodeoxyuridylate (FdUMP), which inhibits thymidilate synthetase (TS). The rate of inhibition of TS is augmented by increasing concentrations of folinic acid. On the other hand, it is well known that treatment of animals with high doses of folinic acid results in acute renal failure due to tubular obstruction. In order to find out whether there are similar findings in the clinical setting, we investigated 8 patients (pts.) with metastatic gastrointestinal cancer who were treated with this chemotherapy. We used the following parameters: 1. excretion of four urinary enzymes (LDH, LAP, GGT, NAG); 2. creatinine clearance on days 1 and 5. Therapy consisted of folinic acid 200 mg/m2 i.v. on days 1-5 and 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m2 on days 1-5. Each treatment cycle was repeated on day 28. We found a constant decrease in the excretion of all 4 enzymes from normal to subnormal values which was statistically significant (p less than .05) during the two treatment cycles. Creatinine clearance decreased about 50% in three patients from normal initial values. In conclusion, during therapy with high-dose folinic acid and 5-fluorouracil we found signs of tubular damage which are similar to those found in folate nephropathy.

[Anemia in malignant tumor diseases. VI. Secondary siderosis caused by the shift of iron, unused for hemoglobin synthesis, into iron stores]. / Die Anämie bei malignen Tumorerkrankungen. VI. Sekundäre Siderose durch die Umverteilung des für die Hämoglobinsynthese nicht verwertbaren Eisens in die Eisenspeicher.

Impaired utilization of iron by the heme synthesizing red cell precursors was investigated in 258 patients with malignant tumors of different histological types and different tumor spread. There was evidence, that impaired iron uptake by the erythropoietic cells results in an increased flow of iron to the reticuloendothelial iron stores. Investigations on bone marrow smears showed that sideroblast counts were significant lower than in healthy controls reflecting a deficient iron supply to the erythropoietic cells. In contrast, reticuloendothelial storage iron was increased paralleled by an increased serum ferritin concentration. Both abnormalities correlated with the malignancy and the stage of the tumor. It could be demonstrated that the degree of the hyperferritinemia paralleled very closely the severity of the anemia becoming more pronounced with increasing tumor mass. This parallelism indicates that the siderosis is pathophysiologically related to the defect of erythropoiesis observed in malignant disease. Since the iron uptake by the erythropoietic cells is mediated by transferrin in a further series of experiments the serum transferrin concentration was investigated in malignant diseases. There was found a close inverse correlation between serum transferrin concentration and serum ferritin concentration. This correlation supports the concept of a defect in erythropoiesis due to an impaired transferrin mediated iron supply caused by tumor induced hypotransferrinemia. This defect is responsible for a shift of iron to the iron stores and a secondary siderosis.

[Anemia in malignant tumor diseases. V. The relation of tumor-induced hypotransferrinemia and the degree of anemia]. / Die Anämie bei malignen Tumorerkrankungen. V. Die Beziehung zwischen der tumorbedingten Hypotransferrinämie und dem Grad der Anämie.

Transferrin is a growth factor in malignancy. In this function, transferrin is taken up into the proliferating malignant cell. The tumor-induced loss of circulating transferrin results in a hypotransferrinemia which correlates with tumor mass and proliferation rate. The cellular uptake of iron into the erythropoietic precursors depends on the presence of iron-saturated transferrin. Thus, iron utilization for the hemoglobin synthesis correlates with the transferrin concentration in blood. In 256 patients with malignancies of different histological types and different tumor extension a strong correlation was found between the degree of tumor-induced hypotransferrinemia and anemia. This correlation between transferrin concentration and hemoglobin concentration could be demonstrated in the different histological tumor entities. Tumor progression was accompanied by a progressive fall in transferrin concentration and hemoglobin concentration. By contrast, tumor remission achieved by an effective antineoplastic therapy resulted in an improvement of hypotransferrinemia and anemia. These variations in the two parameters were found to be strongly correlated. We conclude from our data that tumor-induced loss of transferrin is one of the most important factors responsible for the development of anemia in malignancy.

Ifosfamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil in advanced pretreated breast cancer.

Thirty-five patients with a median age of 55 years (range, 28 to 68 years) and a median Karnofsky status of 80% (range, 40% to 100%) were treated with ifosfamide (1.5 g/m2 plus mesna), methotrexate (40 mg/m2), and 5-fluorouracil (600 mg/m2) intravenously (IV) days 1 and 8 at intervals of 4 weeks. Thirty-four patients had received previous chemotherapy, including anthracyclines in 28 patients. All patients were evaluable for response. A partial remission was achieved in six patients (17%), stable disease in 13 patients (37%), and 16 patients (46%) were unresponsive. Median time to progression was 7 months (range, 4 to 13 months) for partial responders, and 4 months for patients with stable disease. Median survival was 9 months for all patients, 13 months for partial responders, 16 months for no change, and 3 months for progressive disease. Toxicity was tolerable, with myelotoxicity being a dose-limiting factor, mainly in heavily pretreated patients. No treatment-related death occurred. In conclusion, this combination is effective and well tolerated. Ifosfamide is suggested for further evaluation in advanced breast cancer.

Phase I study of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor alpha in advanced malignant disease.

A phase I study with recombinant human tumor necrosis factor alpha (rhuTNF-alpha; Knoll AG, Ludwigshafen, FRG) in patients with advanced malignant disease was undertaken to evaluate drug toxicity (organ specificity, time course, predictability, reversibility, maximal tolerated dose), effectiveness, antigenicity and pharmacokinetics. TNF was administered as a test dose followed by daily i.v. infusions for 5 days, every 3 weeks (single i.v. infusion lasting 10 min, TNF dissolved in 50 ml 5% human albumin). Dosage was increased in groups of 3 or 4 patients from 0.04 mg/m2 to 0.28 mg/m2. A total of 19 patients with different cancers, including seven large-bowel carcinomas, three chronic myelogenous leukemias, three hypernephromas, two small-cell lung cancers, one malignant melanoma, one malignant lymphoma, one rhabdomyosarcoma and one fibrosarcoma were treated. Major side-effects were chills and fever (maximum 40.4 degrees C, median 38.7 degrees C, 19/19), headache (12/19), nausea and vomiting (12/19) and pronounced (greater than 20%) hypotension (4/19). Acute side-effects could be diminished by paracetamol or indomethacin pretreatment, and with one possible exception no tachyphylaxis to TNF was noted. Mild renal toxicity was seen during TNF treatment. Pharmacokinetic studies showed a serum half-life (t1/2) ranging from 11 min to 17 min for doses from 0.04 mg/m2 to 0.16 mg/m2 and prolonged clearance with t1/2 ranging from 54 min to 70 min in the 0.20-0.28 mg/m2 dose range. No objective antitumor effects were observed in this phase I study.

[Treatment of metastasized carcinoid tumor of the ileum and cecum with recombinant alpha-2b interferon]. / Zur Behandlung des metastasierten Karzinoids von Ileum und Caecum mit rekombinantem Interferon alpha-2b.

Seven patients with progressive ileal or caecal carcinoid tumors and liver metastases were treated with human recombinant alpha-interferon (IFN alfa-2b) at a dosage of 2-4 x 10(6) U daily or every other day subcutaneously. Six patients had symptoms of the carcinoid syndrome. No change of tumor size lasting 4 to 40+ months (median, 18 months) was noted in 6 patients, and 1 patient had hepatic tumor progression. A decrease in urinary excretion of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid by more than 50% lasting 2-11 months (median, 4) was observed in 5 patients. Four patients were completely or partially relieved of flushing, diarrhea, obstruction or abdominal pain. The side-effects were negligible with the exception of mild fever, headache and confusion only during the first days of therapy. Treatment with IFN alfa-2b offers good palliation to patients with disseminated ileal or caecal carcinoid tumor and carcinoid syndrome.

Clinical pharmacology of sodium butyrate in patients with acute leukemia.

Since cancer may be regarded as a disease of differentiation and sodium butyrate induces differentiation of malignant cells in vitro, a study of the clinical pharmacology of sodium butyrate was undertaken. Nine patients with acute myeloid (n = 1), acute monocytic (n = 1), acute myelomonocytic (n = 6) and acute undifferentiated (n = 1) leukemia were treated. Their median age was 52 (range, 27-78) years. Six of the nine patients were pretreated with cytostatic agents. Sodium butyrate was administered i.v. at a dosage of 500 mg/kg/day as continuous infusion over 10 days. A sensitive and reproducible high-performance liquid chromatographic separation was developed after derivatization of sodium butyrate with 2,4'-dibromoacetophenone employing crown ether catalysis. Plasma concentrations and urinary excretion of sodium butyrate were monitored during the 10 days of continuous infusion and for 2 days thereafter. During infusion, plasma concentrations increased 6-fold over the endogenous butyrate level and reached 39-59 microM. The area under the curve of the exogenous butyrate was 384 +/- 50 microM X day (mean +/- S.D.). After the end of infusion, concentrations declined rapidly with a half-life of 6.1 +/- 1.4 min, and reached pretreatment values within 1 hr. The total clearance rate was 83 +/- 12 ml/kg/min and the volume of distribution 738 +/- 245 ml/kg. The excreted amounts of butyrate in the urine were minimal as compared to the infused dose. Although excretion by other organs was not ruled out, it is suggested that the infused sodium butyrate was rapidly metabolized. A significant increase in peripheral blast cells was observed, whereas bone marrow cytologies before and after treatment did not reveal a significant change in blasts. Differential counts of peripheral white blood cells did not show significant changes. No toxicity was encountered. The apparent lack of clinical efficacy may be explained by the low plasma levels of sodium butyrate due to its short half-life in vivo. In comparison, concentrations reported for in vitro studies were at least 10 times higher.

[Detection of nephrotoxicity of human alpha 2b interferon with special reference to the analysis of urine enzymes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia]. / Untersuchungen zur Erfassung der Nephrotoxizität von humanem Alpha-2b-Interferon unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Analyse von Harnenzymen bei Patienten mit chronischer myeloischer Leukämie.

The nephrotoxic potential of alpha-interferon (IFN alpha-2b) was analysed in 21 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. As particularly sensitive parameters in the detection of subclinical renal injury we measured the excretion of the following urinary enzymes: lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), leucine arylaminidase (LAP), beta-galactosidase (GAL) and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG). Additionally, protein excretion and urinary sediment were analysed. In 18 of 21 patients a significant increase in the excretion of LDH, LAP, GGT and NAG was found, in 6 patients there was an additional rise in the output of GAL. Eleven patients developed proteinuria up to 2 g/l, one patient excreted up to 9 g/l. Enzymuria and protein excretion decreased in all patients after reduction of the IFN alpha-2b dosage and disappeared in two patients following cessation of therapy. The high incidence of nephrotoxic events in patients with CML during IFN alpha-2b therapy might be mostly due to immunological or substance-specific effects.

Two randomised phase II trials of intermittent intravenous versus subcutaneous alpha-2 interferon alone (trial 1) and in combination with 5-fluorouracil (trial 2) in advanced colorectal cancer.

Sixty-five patients with advanced colorectal cancer were randomised to one of two schedules of recombinant alpha-2 interferon (IFN). In the first study, 36 patients received single-agent IFN, either 50 X 10(6) U/m2 intravenously on 5 consecutive days every 4 weeks, or 20 X 10(6) U/m2 subcutaneously three times per week. No tumour responses were seen and toxicity was unacceptable. In the second study, 29 patients received IFN in two similar schedules, but the dose of IFN was reduced to 20 X 10(6) U/m2 per day in the intravenous arm and to 5 X 10(6) U/m2 per day in the subcutaneous arm. In addition these patients were administered intravenous 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), 250-500 mg/m2 per day on the first 5 days of each 4-weekly cycle. Although the toxicity of this second study was tolerable, only one short-lived partial remission was observed. Alpha-2 interferon, alone or in combination with 5-FU, is ineffective in advanced colorectal cancer.

[Biological effect of recombined leukocyte alpha-2-interferon in metastasizing colorectal cancers]. / Biologischer Effekt von rekombiniertem Leukozyten-alpha 2-Interferon bei metastasierten kolorektalen Karzinomen.

High-dosage recombinant alpha 2 interferon ( rIFN -alpha 2) was used for treatment of 12 patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum. In a prospective randomised fashion either 50 X 10(6) E/m2 as 30-minute infusion on 5 consecutive days four-weekly or 20 X 10(6) E/m2 subcutaneously thrice weekly were administered. No significant regression of the tumour could be observed. Treatment side-effects such as fever, shivering and fatigue were so pronounced particularly after subcutaneous administration that no patient could be treated for longer than 8 weeks. According to these findings single use of rIFN -alpha 2 does not seem to be of use for treatment of metastatic colorectal carcinomas. Subcutaneous administration is associated with considerable side-effects which subjectively in the majority of patients were considered intolerable.