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Development and Standardization of an Ex Vivo Micromethod for Intracellular Quantification of Vincristine in Primary ALL Cells by LC-MS/MS
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Vincristine pharmacokinetics in children with Down syndrome

Gudmar Lönnerholm1, Britt-Marie Frost, Stefan Söderhäll

  • 1Department of Women's and Children's Health, University Children's Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. gudmar.lonnerholm@kbh.uu.se

Pediatric Blood & Cancer
|July 11, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Children with Down syndrome (DS) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) show similar vincristine pharmacokinetics to other children. This study found no pharmacokinetic basis to reduce vincristine dosage in DS-ALL patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Oncology
  • Pharmacokinetics
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Children with Down syndrome (DS) have a poorer prognosis for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
  • Optimal drug dosing for DS patients, including vincristine, is uncertain due to limited pharmacokinetic data.
  • Vincristine is a key chemotherapy agent for ALL.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate and compare vincristine pharmacokinetics in children with DS and non-DS children.
  • To determine if pharmacokinetic differences warrant vincristine dose adjustments in DS patients.

Main Methods:

  • Vincristine pharmacokinetics were analyzed on treatment day one.
  • Data from six DS children were compared to data from 92 non-DS children.

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in vincristine pharmacokinetics were observed between the DS and non-DS pediatric groups.
  • Early-phase pharmacokinetic profiles did not reveal distinct patterns necessitating dose modification.

Conclusions:

  • From a pharmacokinetic standpoint, there is no evidence to support reducing vincristine dosage in children with Down syndrome.
  • Standard vincristine dosing appears appropriate for DS children with ALL based on initial pharmacokinetic data.

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