[Pharmacokinetic and therapeutic studies of the administration of peplomycin by continuous subcutaneous infusion].

A continuous subcutaneous infusion of peplomycin was performed on 15 patients with cervical cancer. Eight patients received 5 mg of peplomycin a day and 7 patients received 2.5 mg a day. The peplomycin concentrating in the serum after infusion for 24 hours thus were 0.094 microgram/ml and 0.056 microgram/ml, respectively. The concentration of peplomycin in the tumor was found to be higher than in normal cervical tissue, and in the lymph nodes it was equal or higher than in the serum. Histological changes were minimum. A Grade IIa determination, however, was found in one patient, which may have been due to the total dose and/or the time of the examination. No pulmonary toxicity developed in any patients.