Phase I and clinical pharmacological evaluation of biochemical modulation of 5-fluorouracil with N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartic acid.

5-Fluorouracil (FUra) is a clinically useful antineoplastic agent. Preclinical studies suggest that the therapeutic effects of FUra can be enhanced by pretreatment with N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartic acid (PALA), an inhibitor of aspartate transcarbamylase. The objective of treatment with PALA is to increase the activation of FUra by inhibiting the normal pathway of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis. Theoretically, the optimal dose of PALA should produce effective blockade of this pathway without increasing toxic effects of FUra. Using pyrazofurin-induced orotic aciduria and orotidinuria as a measure of this pathway, it as determined that PALA (250 mg/sq m) is effective in inhibiting total-body pyrimidine synthesis. Sixty-eight adult patients with cancer were treated with combinations of PALA and FUra. High doses of PALA (1 to 2 g/sq m) prevented the use of full dosage of FUra; however, PALA (250 mg/sq m) can be administered 24 hr before FUra (750 mg/sq m) once weekly for at least 3 weeks. The toxicity observed using that combination of doses was mild to moderate myelosuppression, mucositis, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Further clinical studies are warranted.