Abacavir (formerly 1592U89) is a carbocyclic nucleoside analog with potent anti-human immunodeficiency virus (anti-HIV) activity when administered alone or in combination with other antiretroviral agents. The population pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of abacavir were investigated in 41 HIV type 1 (HIV-1)-infected, antiretroviral naive adults with baseline CD4؉ cell counts of >100/mm 3 and plasma HIV-1 RNA levels of >30,000 copies/ml. Data for analysis were obtained from patients who received randomized, blinded monotherapy with abacavir at 100, 300, or 600 mg twice-daily (BID) for up to 12 weeks. Plasma abacavir concentrations from sparse sampling were analyzed by standard population pharmacokinetic methods, and the effects of dose, combination therapy, gender, weight, and age on parameter estimates were investigated. Bayesian pharmacokinetic parameter estimates were calculated to determine the peak concentration of abacavir in plasma (C max ) and the area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC 0-ؕ ) for individual subjects. The pharmacokinetics of abacavir were dose proportional over the 100-to 600-mg dose range and were unaffected by any covariates. No significant correlations were observed between the incidence of the five most common adverse events (headache, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and malaise or fatigue) and AUC 0-ؕ . A significant correlation was observed between C max and nausea by categorical analysis (P ‫؍‬ 0.019), but this was of borderline significance by logistic regression (odds ratio, 1.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.95 to 2.32). The log 10 time-averaged AUC 0-ؕ minus baseline (AAUCMB) values for HIV-1 RNA and CD4؉ cell count correlated significantly with C max and AUC 0-ؕ , but with better model fits for AUC 0-ؕ . The increase in AAUCMB values for CD4 ؉ cell count plateaued early for drug exposures that were associated with little change in AAUCMB values for plasma HIV-1 RNA. There was less than a 0.4 log 10 difference over 12 weeks in the HIV-1 RNA levels with the doubling of the abacavir AUC 0-ؕ from 300 to 600 mg BID dosing. In conclusion, pharmacodynamic modeling supports the selection of abacavir 300 mg twice-daily dosing.

The camptothecin analogs topotecan and irinotecan have shown to be among the most effective anticancer agents and, as S-phase specific agents, their antitumor effect is maximized when they are administered in protracted schedules. The documented activity as single agents in many adult and pediatric malignancies has been followed by their use in combination with other anticancer agents. These studies have shown promising results, and have placed topotecan and irinotecan in the first line treatment for some malignancies. However, studies to better determine the optimal schedules and sequence of combinations are needed.

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Knowledge of how the variability of a drug assay compares with its TEa allows clinicians to assess the usefulness of a serum drug concentration as a clinical tool.

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