Pharmacokinetics of Daunorubicin Entrapped in Liposomes or Erythrocytes—Phase II Study in Refractory Acute Leukemias

Anthracyclines are basic cytostatic drugs for the treatment of acute leukemias. Pharmacokinetics of these drugs determins their efficacy. Peak concentration (PC) correlates with response rate, for example in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) [1]. Area under the curve (AUC) parameters of daunorubicin are not optimal due to very fast phase of distribution and slow phase of elimination of the anthracycline. The usage of drug carriers -liposomes and erythrocytes—provides a new tool for overcoming these negative points. It was already proved that liposomal daunorubicin creates very high PC and large AUC [2]. It’s also supposed that liposomal formulation of daunorubicin can overcome P-glycoprotein related resistance of leukemic cells [3]. Erythrocytes as carriers of anthracyclines (doxorubicin) were already tested in a small cohort of lymphoma patients, and it was shown that this drug formulation did not create high PC but enlarge AUC [4].