Comparison of PETINIA and LC-MS/MS for determining plasma mycophenolic acid concentrations in Japanese lung transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Mycophenolic acid (MPA) treatment requires therapeutic drug monitoring to improve the outcome after organ transplantation. The aim of this study was to compare two methods, a particle enhanced turbidimetric inhibition immunoassay (PETINIA) and a reference liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for determining plasma MPA concentrations from Japanese lung transplant recipients. METHODS: Plasma MPA concentrations were determined from 20 Japanese lung transplant recipients using LC-MS/MS and the PETINIA on the Dimension Xpand Plus-HM analyzer. RESULTS: The mean MPA concentration measured by PETINIA was significantly higher than that measured by LC-MS/MS (3.26 ± 2.73 µg/mL versus 2.82 ± 2.71 µg/mL, P < 0.0001). The result of the Passing Bablok analysis was a slope of 1.104 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.036-1.150) and an intercept of 0.229 (95%CI, 0.144-0.315). Bland-Altman analysis revealed PETINIA overestimates plasma MPA concentration by 26.25% and 95%CI from 21.43 to 31.07%. CONCLUSION: The measurement of MPA by the PETINIA in Japanese lung transplant patients should evaluate the result with attention to positive bias.

Monitoring Serum Levels of Sorafenib and Its N-Oxide Is Essential for Long-Term Sorafenib Treatment of Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Sorafenib, an oral multi-kinase inhibitor, is the final therapy prior to palliative care for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, due to its adverse effects, 20% of patients must discontinue sorafenib within 1 month after first administration. To identify ways to predict the adverse effects and administer the drug for longer periods, we explored the relationship between the duration of sorafenib treatment and the pharmacokinetics of sorafenib and its major metabolite, sorafenib N-oxide. Twenty-five subjects enrolled in the study were divided into two groups: patients with dosage reduced or withdrawn due to adverse effects (n = 8), and patients with dosage maintained for 1 month after initial administration (n = 17). We evaluated early sorafenib accumulation as the area under the curve of sorafenib and sorafenib N-oxide concentrations during days 1-7 (AUC(sorafenib) and AUC(N-oxide), respectively). Inter-group comparison revealed that AUC(N-oxide) and AUC ratio (AUC(N-oxide)/AUC(sorafenib)) were significantly higher in the dosage reduction/withdrawal group (P = 0.031 and P = 0.0022, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that AUC(N-oxide) and AUC ratio were reliable predictors of adverse effects. When patients were classified by cut-off points (AUC(N-oxide:) 2.0 µg ∙ day/mL, AUC ratio: 0.13), progression-free survival was significantly longer in patients with AUC(N-oxide) ≤ 2.0 µg ∙ day/mL (P = 0.0048, log-rank test). In conclusion, we recommend to simultaneously monitor serum levels of sorafenib and its N-oxide during the early stage after the first administration, which enables us to provide safe and long-term therapy for each HCC patient with sorafenib.

A quantitative HPLC-UV method for determination of serum sorafenib and sorafenib N-oxide and its application in hepatocarcinoma patients.

Sorafenib, an oral multi-kinase inhibitor, has been approved for treatment of advanced renal-cell and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, 20% of HCC patients taking sorafenib are forced to withdraw due to adverse effects within one month after administration. Orally administered sorafenib is oxidatively metabolized, predominantly by cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), in small-intestinal mucosa or liver. We aimed to characterize the CYP3A4-mediated metabolism of sorafenib in HCC patients and explore the contribution of the major metabolite sorafenib N-oxide to adverse effects and therapeutic efficacy. We have therefore developed a method for quantitative determination of sorafenib and its N-oxide in the present study. To optimize the preanalytical procedure, we initially ascertained the solubility of the analytes. Because they are lipophilic, solvents containing more than 40% acetonitrile were required for efficient recovery. The pretreatment procedure that we ultimately developed consists of acetonitrile precipitation, followed by extraction using octadecyl silyl-silica gel to eliminate water-soluble and hydrophilic components of serum. Application of this procedure before HPLC enabled accurate and reproducible quantitation of analytes in a linear range from 0.03 to 30 µg/mL. After characterizing the peaks in the HPLC-ultraviolet chromatogram obtained from a medicated patient by LC-tandem mass spectrometry, we applied this method to HCC patients taking sorafenib, showing large inter-individual differences in the pharmacokinetic profile. In conclusion, our assay system should be useful for follow-up of patients taking sorafenib and for exploring the association between the pharmacokinetics of sorafenib and its N-oxide and the adverse effects or therapeutic efficacy.