Amelioration of cis-platinum nephrotoxicity by orgotein (superoxide dismutase).

In rats, daily administration of subcutaneous dose of 2.5 mg/kg of orgotein, the pharmaceutical preparation of Zn-Cu superoxide dismutase, lowers the nephrotoxicity induced by a 5.0 mg/kg dose of the antitumor agent cis-platinum (cis-diaminedichloroplatinum II). The toxicity of cis-platinum was studied by comparative measurements of blood urea nitrogen and changes in body weight, and by comparative renal histology. In addition to their direct clinical applicability, these results support a role for pathologic levels of oxygen radicals in the etiology of the nephrotoxicity of cis-platinum.