Pharmacokinetics of teniposide (VM 26) after IV administration in serum and malignant ascites of patients with ovarian carcinoma.

Nine patients with ovarian carcinoma and malignant ascites treated with IV teniposide chemotherapy (30 mg/m2/30 min) entered this study. Plasma and peritoneal fluid levels were measured by an HPLC method with electrochemical detection. Plasma decay kinetics followed a triexponential function. A high variability of drug diffusion in ascites was noticed. Peak concentrations in ascites ranged from 1.6% to 20.5% of serum peak concentration. The concentration in peritoneal fluid reached a maximum level 6 h after the infusion ended. Teniposide was less slowly eliminated from ascites than from serum. The exposure of the inflammatory peritoneal fluid to the drug expressed by area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) was also subject to significant interindividual variation, ranging from 223 to 2332 micrograms/ml X min. However, the peritoneal AUC was correlated with serum AUC and with the systemic clearance of the drug. A significant relationship between gamma glutamyltranspeptidase and both systemic clearance and either the serum or the peritoneal AUC was found, suggesting that liver plays a role in drug disposition.