High-throughput plasma docetaxel quantification by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

Profiling Docetaxel in Plasma and Urine Samples from a Pediatric Cancer Patient Using Ultrasound-Assisted Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Combined with LC-MS/MS

In recent years, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has been applied in docetaxel (DOC)-based anticancer therapy to precisely control various pharmacokinetic parameters, including the concentration of DOC in biofluids (e.g., plasma or urine), its clearance, and its area under the curve (AUC). The ability to determine these values and to monitor DOC levels in biological samples depends on the availability of precise and accurate analytical methods that both enable fast and sensitive analysis and can be implemented in routine clinical practice. This paper presents a new method for isolating DOC from plasma and urine samples based on the coupling of microextraction and advanced liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In the proposed method, biological samples are prepared via ultrasound-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (UA-DLLME) using ethanol (EtOH) and chloroform (Chl) as the desorption and extraction solvents, respectively. The proposed protocol was fully validated according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) requirements. The developed method was then applied to monitor the DOC profile in plasma and urine samples collected from a pediatric patient suffering from cardiac angiosarcoma (AS) with metastasis to lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes, who was receiving treatment with DOC at a dose of 30 mg/m² body surface area. Due to the rarity of this disease, TDM was carried out to determine the exact levels of DOC at particular time points to ascertain which levels were conducive to maximizing the treatment's effectiveness while minimizing the drug's toxicity. To this end, the concentration-time profiles of DOC in the plasma and urine samples were determined, and the levels of DOC at specific time intervals up to 3 days after administration were measured. The results showed that DOC was present at higher concentrations in the plasma than in the urine samples, which is due to the fact that this drug is primarily metabolized in the liver and then eliminated with the bile. The obtained data provided information about the pharmacokinetic profile of DOC in pediatric patients with cardiac AS, which enabled the dose to be adjusted to achieve the optimal therapeutic regimen. The findings of this work demonstrate that the optimized method can be applied for the routine monitoring of DOC levels in plasma and urine samples as a part of pharmacotherapy in oncological patients.

An improved LC-MS/MS method for determination of docetaxel and its application to population pharmacokinetic study in Chinese cancer patients

Because of its unpredictable side effects and efficacy, the anticancer drug docetaxel (DTX) requires improved characterisation of its pharmacokinetic profiles through population pharmacokinetic studies. A sensitive and rugged LC-MS/MS method for the detection of DTX in human plasma was developed and optimised using paclitaxel as an internal standard (IS). The plasma samples underwent rapid extraction using hybrid solid-phase extraction-protein precipitation. The analyte and IS were separated with an isocratic system on a Zorbax Eclipse Plus C₁₈ column using water containing 0.05% acetic acid along with 20 μM of sodium acetate and methanol (30/70, v/v) as the mobile phase. Quantification was performed using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer through multiple reaction monitoring in positive mode, using the m/z 830.3 → 548.8 and m/z 876.3 → 307.7 transitions for DTX and paclitaxel, respectively. The range of the calibration curve was 1-500 ng/mL for DTX, and the linear correlation coefficient was >0.99. The accuracies ranged from -4.6 to 4.2%, and the precision was no higher than 7.0% for the analytes. No significant matrix effect was observed. Both DTX and the IS showed considerable recovery. This method was finally applied to the establishment of a population pharmacokinetic model to optimise the clinical use of DTX.

Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Primed with Paclitaxel Inhibit Ovarian Cancer Spheroid Growth and Overcome Paclitaxel Resistance

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) primed with paclitaxel (PTX) are now hypothesized to represent a potential Trojan horse to vehicle and deliver PTX into tumors. We analyzed the anticancer activity of PTX released by ADSCs primed with PTX (PTX-ADSCs) (~20 ng/mL) in a panel of ovarian cancer (OvCa) cells sensitive or resistant to PTX. We used two (2D) and three dimensional (3D) in vitro models (multicellular tumor spheroids, MCTSs, and heterospheroids) to mimic tumor growth in ascites. The coculture of OvCa cells with PTX-ADSCs inhibited cell viability in 2D models and in 3D heterospheroids (SKOV3-MCTSs plus PTX-ADSCs) and counteracted PTX-resistance in Kuramochi cells. The cytotoxic effects of free PTX and of equivalent amounts of PTX secreted in PTX-ADSC-conditioned medium (CM) were compared. PTX-ADSC-CM decreased OvCa cell proliferation, was more active than free PTX and counteracted PTX-resistance in Kuramochi cells (6.0-fold decrease in the IC50 values). Cells cultivated as 3D aggregated MCTSs were more resistant to PTX than 2D cultivation. PTX-ADSC-CM (equivalent-PTX) was more active than PTX in MCTSs and counteracted PTX-resistance in all cell lines. PTX-ADSC-CM also inhibited OvCa-MCTS dissemination on collagen-coated wells. In conclusion, PTX-ADSCs and PTX-MSCs-CM may represent a new option with which to overcome PTX-resistance in OvCa.

Cross-Linked Polyphenol-Based Drug Nano-Self-Assemblies Engineered to Blockade Prostate Cancer Senescence

Cellular senescence is one of the prevailing issues in cancer therapeutics that promotes cancer relapse, chemoresistance, and recurrence. Patients undergoing persistent chemotherapy often develop drug-induced senescence. Docetaxel, an FDA-approved treatment for prostate cancer, is known to induce cellular senescence which often limits the overall survival of patients. Strategic therapies that counter the cellular and drug-induced senescence are an unmet clinical need. Towards this an effort was made to develop a novel therapeutic strategy that targets and removes senescent cells from the tumors, we developed a nanoformulation of tannic acid-docetaxel self-assemblies (DSAs). The construction of DSAs was confirmed through particle size measurements, spectroscopy, thermal, and biocompatibility studies. This formulation exhibited enhanced in vitro therapeutic activity in various biological functional assays with respect to native docetaxel treatments. Microarray and immunoblot analysis results demonstrated that DSAs exposure selectively deregulated senescence associated TGFβR1/FOXO1/p21 signaling. Decrease in β-galactosidase staining further suggested reversion of drug-induced senescence after DSAs exposure. Additionally, DSAs induced profound cell death by activation of apoptotic signaling through bypassing senescence. Furthermore, in vivo and ex vivo imaging analysis demonstrated the tumor targeting behavior of DSAs in mice bearing PC-3 xenograft tumors. The antisenescence and anticancer activity of DSAs was further shown in vivo by inhibiting TGFβR1 proteins and regressing tumor growth through apoptotic induction in the PC-3 xenograft mouse model. Overall, DSAs exhibited such advanced features due to a natural compound in the formulation as a matrix/binder for docetaxel. Overall, DSAs showed superior tumor targeting and improved cellular internalization, promoting docetaxel efficacy. These findings may have great implications in prostate cancer therapy.

[Study on the Metabolic Reprogramming of Lung Cancer Cells Regulated by Docetaxel Based on Metabolomics]

背景与目的

多西他赛是一种临床常用的抗肿瘤药物，是晚期非小细胞肺癌（non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC）的一线用药。然而，多西他赛抗NSCLC作用的分子机制尚不明确。研究表明肿瘤细胞的代谢重编程在肿瘤发生发展过程中发挥重要作用。本研究旨在通过结合代谢组学分析及生物学手段来探讨多西他赛所影响的NSCLC细胞代谢通路。

方法

首先，通过CCK-8实验分析多西他赛对NSCLC细胞活力的影响，筛选合适药物浓度。接下来，通过基于气相色谱质谱联用（gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS）的代谢组学技术分析多西他赛处理和未处理的A549和H1299细胞。并通过统计学计算得到处理组和未处理组间的差异代谢物。最后，通过蛋白质免疫印迹分析（Western blot）多西他赛对其所调控的相关代谢途径中关键酶蛋白质表达水平的影响。

结果

多西他赛可时间依赖和浓度依赖地抑制A549和H1299细胞活力。随着多西他赛处理时间延长，凋亡敏感蛋白质多聚二磷酸腺苷核糖聚合酶[Poly(ADP-)Polymerase, PARP]逐渐被激活裂解形成P89片段。代谢组学分析发现，药物处理后的A549和H1299细胞内，8种代谢物均发生显著变化，主要集中于三羧酸（tricarboxylic acid, TCA）循环代谢通路。同时，药物处理后，TCA循环关键调控酶异柠檬酸脱氢酶蛋白质表达水平显著下降。

结论

多西他赛诱导NSCLC增殖抑制及凋亡的效应可能与下调异柠檬酸脱氢酶，进而抑制三羧酸循环代谢途径有关。

Determination of total and unbound docetaxel in plasma by ultrafiltration and UPLC-MS/MS: application to pharmacokinetic studies

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatographic/tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) method was developed and validated for quantifying total and unbound docetaxel drug concentrations in plasma. Calibration curves for unbound and total docetaxel were linear over the respective ranges of 0.108~10.8 and 0.54~216 ng/mL. The intra- and interday assay accuracy and precision did not exceed 15%. The methods were validated to show the standard range linearity, sensitivity, selectivity, accuracy, precision, and stability of docetaxel in the matrices tested. In addition, this method is fast and simple with a short run time of 4.5 min and a small plasma sample volume (500 µL). The validated method was successfully applied to a pharmacokinetic study of a docetaxel micelle formulation in rat plasma after intravenous administration at a dose of 10 mg/kg. Docetaxel micelles slowly released their drug payload, and protein-bound, unbound, and micellar drug pools existed simultaneously. These various forms in plasma pools were also measured in the study. We confirmed that most of the docetaxel in plasma was micelle-associated (96.52% at 24 h and 83.14% at 72 h) after micellar docetaxel administration, as a result of sequestration of the drug in long-circulating micelles.

Mass spectrometry in the pharmacokinetic studies of anticancer natural products

In the history of medicine, nature has represented the main source of medical products. Indeed, the therapeutic use of plants certainly goes back to the Sumerian and Hippocrates and nowadays nature still represents the major source for new drugs discovery. Moreover, in the cancer treatment, drugs are either natural compounds or have been developed from naturally occurring parent compounds firstly isolated from plants and microbes from terrestrial and marine environment. A critical element of an anticancer drug is represented by its severe toxicities and, after administration, the drug concentrations have to remain in an appropriate range to be effective. Anyway, the drug dosage defined during the clinical studies could be inappropriate for an individual patient due to differences in drug absorption, metabolism and excretion. For this reason, personalized medicine, based on therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), represents one of most important challenges in cancer therapy. Mass spectrometry sensitivity, specificity and fastness lead to elect this technique as the Golden Standard for pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism studies therefore for TDM. This review focuses on the mass spectrometry-based methods developed for pharmacokinetic quantification in human plasma of anticancer drugs derived from natural sources and already used in clinical practice. Particular emphasis was placed both on the pre-analytical and analytical steps, such as: sample preparation procedures, sample size required by the analysis and the limit of quantification of drugs and metabolites to give some insights on the clinical practice applicability. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Mass Spec Rev. 36:213-251, 2017.

Antineoplastic drugs and their analysis: a state of the art review

We provide an overview of the analytical methods available for the quantification of antineoplastic drugs in pharmaceutical formulations, biological and environmental samples.

Pharmacokinetics and safety of cyclophosphamide and docetaxel in a hemodialysis patient with early stage breast cancer: a case report

Background

Standardized chemotherapy used in cancer patients with severe kidney insufficiency is ineffective. Although there are some pharmacokinetic studies on cyclophosphamide in kidney insufficiency patients, to the best of our knowledge, the pharmacokinetics and safety of combination of cyclophosphamide and docetaxel as postoperative chemotherapy in a patient with early stage breast cancer undergoing hemodialysis is unclear thus far.

Case Presentation

The patient received regular TC regimen (cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m², docetaxel 75 mg/m²). She underwent hemodialysis 48 h after chemotherapy. Blood samples at multiple time-points were collected for determination of plasma levels of cyclophosphamide and docetaxel. Pharmacokinetic analyses indicated that compared with the reference data, the in vivo half-life (66.96 h) and drug exposure (150 %) of cyclophosphamide significantly increased; however, pharmacokinetic parameters of docetaxel was unaffected. Patient developed grade I thrombocytopenia and grade III leukopenia without any other severe adverse reactions. In total, four cycles of treatment were completed. After the chemotherapy, the patient received tamoxifen as endocrine therapy for one and a half years. No recurrence was reported.

Conclusion

These results suggest that the standard TC regimen is mostly safe and could be used as postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for hemodialysis patients with early stage breast cancer.

Optimization of a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of traces of taxanes in a Corylus avellana cell suspension medium

We developed a reliable HPLC-MS/MS method to quantify five of the most commercially important taxanes in a C. avellana cell suspension medium. Its linearity, intra- and inter-day precision, recovery, accuracy, LOD/LOQ and matrix effect were evaluated.

Quantification of taxanes in biological matrices: a review of bioanalytical assays and recommendations for development of new assays

Since the isolation of paclitaxel and its approval for the treatment of breast cancer, various taxanes and taxane formulations have been developed. To date, almost 100 bioanalytical assays have been published with the method development and optimization often extensively discussed by the authors. This Review presents an overview of assays published between January 1970 and September 2013 that described method development and validation of assays used to quantify taxanes in biological matrices such as plasma, urine, feces and tissue samples. For liquid chromatography assays, sample pretreatment, chromatographic separation and assay performance are compared. Since this Review discusses the limitations of previously developed liquid chromatography assays and gives recommendations for future assay development, it can be used as a reference for future development of liquid chromatography assays for the quantification of taxanes in various biological matrices to support preclinical and clinical studies.

Progestin modulates the lipid profile and sensitivity of breast cancer cells to docetaxel

Progestins induce lipid accumulation in progesterone receptor (PR)-positive breast cancer cells. We speculated that progestin-induced alterations in lipid biology confer resistance to chemotherapy. To examine the biology of lipid loaded breast cancer cells, we used a model of progestin-induced lipid synthesis. T47D (PR-positive) and MDA-MB-231 (PR-negative) cell lines were used to study progestin response. Oil red O staining of T47D cells treated with progestin showed lipid droplet formation was PR dependent, glucose dependent and reduced sensitivity to docetaxel. This protection was not observed in PR-negative MDA-MB-231 cells. Progestin treatment induced stearoyl CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1) enzyme expression and chemical inhibition of SCD-1 diminished lipid droplets and cell viability, suggesting the importance of lipid stores in cancer cell survival. Gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy analysis of phospholipids from progestin-treated T47D cells revealed an increase in unsaturated fatty acids, with oleic acid as most abundant. Cells surviving docetaxel treatment also contained more oleic acid in phospholipids, suggesting altered membrane fluidity as a potential mechanism of chemoresistance mediated in part by SCD-1. Lastly, intact docetaxel molecules were present within progestin induced lipid droplets, suggesting a protective quenching effect of intracellular lipid droplets. Our studies suggest the metabolic adaptations produced by progestin provide novel metabolic targets for future combinatorial therapies for progestin-responsive breast cancers.

Recent advances in bioanalytical sample preparation for LC-MS analysis

Sample preparation has historically been, and continues to be, the most challenging part of the bioanalytical workflow. Several techniques have been developed over the years to deal with the problems of recovery and matrix effects in an effort to increase the reliability and robustness of the bioanalytical method. In recent years certain techniques have come into prominence and gained acceptance in routine sample preparation, and some have shown promise in their use in a discovery environment where speed is critical and method development time is often limited. The aim of this review is to examine several of these techniques and provide examples of their use from the literature, as well as comment on their utility in current workflows.

Determination of docetaxel in rat plasma and its application in the comparative pharmacokinetics of Taxotere and SID530, a novel docetaxel formulation with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

In this study, a sensitive, simple and reliable method for the quantification of docetaxel in rat plasma was developed and validated using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The plasma samples were prepared by protein precipitation, and paclitaxel was used as an internal standard (IS). Chromatographic separation was achieved using a Gemini C(18) column (2.0 × 150 mm, 5 µm) with a mobile phase consisting of 0.1% formic acid-acetonitrile (30:70, v/v). The precursor-product ion pairs used for multiple reaction monitoring were m/z 808.5 → 527.5 (docetaxel) and m/z 854.2 → 286.5 (IS, paclitaxel). A calibration curve for docetaxel was constructed over the range 1-1000 ng/mL. The developed method was specific, precise and accurate, and no matrix effect was observed. The validated method was applied in a comparative pharmacokinetic study in which two docetaxel formulations, SID530, a new parenteral formulation of docetaxel with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), and Taxotere, were administered to rats at a dose of 5 mg/kg. For SID530 and Taxotere, the mean C(0) values were 1494 and 1818 ng/mL, respectively, and the AUC(last) values were 837 and 755 h ng/mL, respectively. These two formulations did not show any statistical differences with regard to the pharmacokinetic parameters, thus establishing that the SID530 and Taxotere products are pharmacokinetically comparable in male rats.

Phase I trial of docetaxel, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine (DOC) in untreated gastric cancer patients

BACKGROUND

A combination of docetaxel (D), oxaliplatin (O), and capecitabine (C) (DOC) was studied in this dose-escalation phase Ib trial in patients with untreated advanced gastric cancer.

METHODS

Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) included any grade 4 hematological or any grade 3 non-hematological toxicity, besides alopecia and nausea or vomiting. Cohorts of three patients, expanded to six if one DLT occurred, were studied. Two DLTs out of three patients, or ≥3 out of six patients defined the toxic level. The preceding level, maximum tolerated dose (MTD), was further expanded to nine patients. The primary objective was to establish the MTD of the DOC regimen.

RESULTS

Twenty-one patients entered four dose levels. Levels I, II, and IIb were considered safe and included 3, 6, and 6 patients, respectively. Level III defined our toxic level with three analyzed patients. Therefore, level IIB was expanded to 9 patients. No other DLTs were recorded.

CONCLUSIONS

Fractionation of doses and the use of less toxic and more convenient derivatives are the rationales for this new combination. The MTD (mg/m(2)) was: D, 30 and O, 70, both on days 1 and 8, i.v.; C 1000 per day, days 2-15, p.o.; all given every 3 weeks. A cooperative phase II study has been opened.

Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of docetaxel by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry: evaluation of folate receptor-targeting amphiphilic copolymer modified nanostructured lipid carrier

A novel amphiphilic copolymer, folate-poly(PEG-cyanoacrylate-co-cholesteryl cyanoacrylate) (FA-PEG-PCHL) was synthesized to modify docetaxel-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier to lead to a long blood circulating effect and targeting ability for the delivery of antitumor drug in cancer. To investigate the characteristics of modified docetaxel-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier in vivo, a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the determination of docetaxel in rat plasma and tumor-bearing mouse tissue samples. The biosamples were extracted by liquid-liquid extraction method with ether and separated on a C(18) column (150 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) using a mobile phase consisting of methanol-0.01% formic acid water (82:18, v/v). The standard curves were linear over the ranges of 0.01-4.0 μg/mL for plasma and 0.02-8.0 μg/g for tissue samples, respectively. The validated method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study in rat plasma and tissue distribution study in mouse tissues of docetaxel after an intravenous administration of docetaxel injection (DTX injection), docetaxel-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (DTX-NLC) and FA-PEG-PCHL-modified docetaxel-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (FA-DTX-NLC), respectively. The results indicated that the FA-DTX-NLC led to significant differences in pharmacokinetic profile and tissue distribution. Nanostructured lipid carrier modified by FA-PEG-PCHL could be one of the promising suspensions for the delivery of docetaxel in cancer.

Analysis of anticancer drugs: a review

In the last decades, the number of patients receiving chemotherapy has considerably increased. Given the toxicity of cytotoxic agents to humans (not only for patients but also for healthcare professionals), the development of reliable analytical methods to analyse these compounds became necessary. From the discovery of new substances to patient administration, all pharmaceutical fields are concerned with the analysis of cytotoxic drugs. In this review, the use of methods to analyse cytotoxic agents in various matrices, such as pharmaceutical formulations and biological and environmental samples, is discussed. Thus, an overview of reported analytical methods for the determination of the most commonly used anticancer drugs is given.