A DOSING SCHEME FOR CARBOPLATIN IN ADULT CANCER-PATIENTS BASED UPON PRE-INFUSION RENAL-FUNCTION AND PLATELET COUNT

The most important risk factors for the development of carboplatin-ind uced thrombocytopenia are total dose, glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and pre-infusion platelet count (P-D). Pharmacokinetic and toxicity d ata from 23 patients with ovarian or testicular cancer were combined w ith published values from four other centers and the relationships bet ween plasma clearance of ultrafilterable platinum and GFR, and between percentage reduction in platelet count and area under the plasma plat inum curve were determined. The scatter in the data was estimated and used in a Monte-Carlo computer simulation to derive the following five -level dosing scheme. [Graphics] The scheme is based on 5% of patients incurring grade IV thrombocytopenia. Using this scheme, the majority of patients with ovarian or testicular cancer receiving carboplatin wi ll be given an initial dose of 900 mg.