Influence of infusion method on gemcitabine pharmacokinetics: a controlled randomized multicenter trial

Ensuring the correct administration of antineoplastic drugs is a constantly challenging task. Nowadays, several specific infusion devices have been marketed to decrease occupational exposure to these drugs through a post-administration rinsing step. As their impact on drug pharmacokinetics has never been evaluated, the objective of this study was to assess how the infusion process may alter the pharmacokinetics of antineoplastic drugs.

We developed a prospective randomized multicenter pharmacokinetic study (ONCOPERF01) to compare the influence of three infusion techniques (gravity-fed infusion-GFI, infusion pump-IP, and gravity-fed infusion with post-administration rinsing-PAR) to assess the impact of both flow rate and post-administration rinsing on gemcitabine pharmacokinetics during three consecutive administrations. Gemcitabine pharmacokinetics was determined with a two-compartment model after plasma dosing with an HPLC-UV method. Statistical comparisons of the three groups were made using repeated-measure analysis of variance (PROC MIXED).

Patients received gemcitabine by gravity-fed infusion (GFI, n = 9; IP, n = 9; PAR, n = 7). Significant differences were noted between infusion duration (GFI = 30.0 ± 2.6 min, IP = 29.1 ± 1.2 min, PAR = 33.7 ± 3.5 min; p = 0.003) and AUCt (GFI = 23.5 ± 8.2 µM h, IP = 25.4 ± 9.1 µM h, PAR = 28.5 ± 6.3 µM h; p = 0.0009), which was significantly higher in the infusion group with post-administration rinsing than in the other groups.

The ONCOPERF01 study indicates that post-administration rinsing leads to a significant increase in patient exposure to gemcitabine, whereas controlling flow rate has no significance. Further surveys are required to assess the impact of such infusion techniques on other antineoplastic drugs.