Everolimus Through Plasmatic Concentrations in Cancer Patients: Prospective Longitudinal Observational Multicentric

Eduard Fort-Casamartina1, Sonia Pernas2, Sara Otero1

  • 1Pharmacy Department, Institut Català Oncologia (ICO), Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge (IDIBELL), L'Hospitalet Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain.

PubMed

Insights

Many cancer patients on everolimus may not achieve optimal drug levels, necessitating therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). This study investigates the prevalence of out-of-range everolimus concentrations and their influencing factors in oncology settings.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Pharmacology
  • Translational Medicine

Background:

  • Everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, treats various cancers but shows significant pharmacokinetic variability.
  • Routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for everolimus in oncology is not standard practice.
  • Understanding drug concentration variability is crucial for optimizing cancer therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of everolimus minimum steady-state concentrations (Cminss) outside the therapeutic range (10-26.3 ng/mL).
  • To explore correlations between non-therapeutic everolimus levels and patient/treatment-specific factors.
  • To provide insights for personalized dosing strategies in cancer treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Multicenter, prospective observational cohort study.
  • Inclusion of 60 patients with metastatic breast, neuroendocrine, or renal cancers undergoing everolimus treatment.
  • Regular blood sample collection (every 4-6 weeks) for Cminss monitoring and correlation analysis with clinical data.

Main Results:

  • Hypothesizes that 30-50% of patients will have everolimus levels outside the target therapeutic range.
  • Aims to identify demographic, clinical, laboratory, and genetic factors associated with variable drug concentrations.
  • Will quantify the incidence of suboptimal everolimus exposure in a real-world oncology setting.

Conclusions:

  • Findings may guide the implementation of routine TDM for everolimus in cancer care.
  • Results can inform personalized dosing strategies to improve treatment efficacy and safety.
  • Contributes to optimizing everolimus therapy and potentially other targeted anticancer agents.