Predictors of vinorelbine pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in patients with cancer

Purpose Marked interindividual variation in drug disposition and toxicity pose an ongoing challenge to chemotherapy dosage individualization. The aim of this study was to evaluate pretreatment clinical features, genotype and functional indicators of drug clearance as predictors of vinorelbine clearance, and myelotoxicity that could inform dosage optimization. Patients and Methods Forty-one patients with cancer received a 60 mg intravenous dose of vinorelbine. Pretreatment routine body size measurements and blood tests were performed. Midazolam clearance and hepatic technetium labeled sestamibi (Tc-99m-MIBI) clearance were used to investigate CYP3A and ABCB1 (MDR1, P-glycoprotein) phenotype respectively and selected single nucleotide polymorphisms in CYP3A and ABCB1 were documented. A limited blood sampling strategy was employed and vinorelbine concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Posterior Bayesian estimates of vinorelbine clearance were obtained for each patient using population pharmacokinetic modeling. Myelotoxicity was estimated from the fractional survival of neutrophils post-treatment. Results There was 4.3-fold variation in vinorelbine clearance across the cohort. In a multivariable analysis, pretreatment estimated creatinine clearance (P < .01) and hepatic Tc-99m-MIBI clearance (P = .01) were independent predictors of vinorelbine clearance. Fractional survival of neutrophils ranged from 1.3% to 100% and was significantly correlated with vinorelbine clearance (P < .01). Body-surface area was the only pretreatment predictor of fractional survival of neutrophils independent of vinorelbine clearance (P = .02). Conclusion Specific indicators of drug clearance provide predictive information about vinorelbine pharmacokinetics, and body-surface area, probably reflecting normal bone marrow reserve, provides an additional pharmacodynamic indicator. Use of a fixed dose of vinorelbine with modifications guided by pretreatment measures is worthy of prospective evaluation.