A novel 6-mercaptopurine oral liquid formulation for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients - results of a randomized clinical trial

Pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are treated with oral 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) for nearly 2 years, but no pediatric formulation has been available. In this study, an oral 6MP liquid suitable for pediatric use was developed and tested in the target population. A randomized cross-over study was performed in 20 pediatric ALL patients (age 1.9 - 14.6 years), comparing pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a newly developed 6MP liquid formulation to 6MP capsules, both taken orally for 4 weeks. Based upon trough levels of the principal active metabolite,6-thioguanine nucleotides (6-TGN),a relative bioavailability of the liquid vs. capsules of 1.01 was found (90% CI 0.86 - 1.20), demonstrating bioequivalence. This was supported by the similarly observed 6MP dosages needed for leucocyte depletion, for both formulations (35 mg/day (range 10 - 115 mg)). 75% of the parents/patients (p = 0.005) preferred the oral liquid over the capsules because of the ease of administration. We conclude that the novel 6MP liquid is a promising treatment for AL

Phase II study on bortezomib (BTZ) in multiple relapsed or refractory pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (rALL) : high response rate with a modestly intensive regimen including BTZ, not related to pharmacokinetics

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