Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Author Spotlight: Advancing Diabetes Research with Static Exercise Training in Mice
Published on: March 29, 2024
A pharmacokinetic study on lapatinib in type 2 diabetic rats
Agnieszka Karbownik1, Edyta Szałek1, Katarzyna Sobańska1
1Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmacy, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
Background:
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex metabolic disorder which affects the function of numerous tissues and alters the pharmacokinetic parameters of many drugs. As many oncological patients are diabetics, it is important to determine the influence of this chronic disease on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of anticancer drugs. Lapatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), approved for the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive metastatic breast cancer. The aim of the study was to compare the PK of lapatinib in normal and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) model rats. Additionally, the effect of lapatinib on blood glucose concentrations was examined.
Methods:
The PK of lapatinib was studied in healthy rats (n=6, the healthy group) and T2DM model rats (n=6, the diabetic group). The rats received lapatinib orally as a single dose of 50mg. Plasma concentrations of lapatinib were measured with high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with a tandem mass spectrometry.
Results:
The plasma concentrations of lapatinib were increased in the T2DM model rats. There were statistically significant differences between the groups in Cmax (p=0.0104) and AUC0-t (p=0.0265). The reduction of glycaemia in the range of 1.2-41.5% and in the range of 4.1-36.8% was observed in the diabetic and healthy animals, respectively.
Conclusions:
Higher concentrations of lapatinib in the diabetic rats may suggest the need for application of lower doses of this TKI in patients with DM.
Related Concept Videos
Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...
Pathophysiology of Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is characterized by autoimmune-mediated destruction of pancreatic β cells, with environmental factors potentially triggering this process in genetically susceptible individuals. Despite many not having a family history, certain genes increase susceptibility,...
Pharmacokinetics: Overview
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...
Diabetes: Management and Pharmacotherapy
Insulin remains the cornerstone of treatment for most patients with type 1 and many...

