Acute hemodynamic effects of an antitumoral agent: elliptinium. Involvement of histamine release.

This work reports a study of cardiovascular effects of elliptinium, a recently-acquired antitumoral agent, acutely administered i.v. in the dog. Its hemodynamic effects (10 parameters) are detailed, and their mechanism of action is investigated by antagonist administration and determination of blood and plasma histamine levels. Elliptinium induces vasodilation and tachycardia. The former is mainly due to histamine release, and a brief and slight release of prostaglandins; the latter is due to a reflex to hypotension and release of catecholamines. These results agree with others using various compounds of the ellipticine family and anthracycline antitumoral agents. They suggest treatment to prevent anaphylactoid side effects observed with this drug in man and they raise the question of the usefulness, in antitumoral agent, of histamine releasing properties.