Background: Treatment with high-dose cisdiammine-dichloroplatinum (II) (cisplatin, cDDP) often is associated with late complications, predominated by peripheral neuropathy. Pt deposition in different tissues may play a key role in the induction of many of these effects. Main topics of interest include the relationship between cDDP doses given during treatment and the long-term pharmacokinetics of the drug complexes in normal tissues and blood. Noninvasive examination of Pt in tissues during and after cDDP treatment are needed to clarify these points.
Methods: A novel, high-sensitivity diagnostic x-ray spectrometry (DXS) method was used for the fast, noninvasive analysis of Pt in external tissues of patients with cancer treated with courses of cDDP. The Pt in a small skin area was excited by a monochromatic soft x-ray beam (14.6 KeV) and the spectral L lines emitted from the tissue were detected. A limit of detection below 1 microgram/g wet weight was reached. The pharmacokinetics of Pt in blood was investigated in parallel with the use of high-sensitivity, flameless atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS).
Results: Follow-up of Pt concentrations in the skin of patients with cancer by DXS before cDDP treatment, during treatment, and up to 4 months after its completion, showed prolonged Pt deposition that corresponded to the net cumulative doses of the drug. Pt clearance from the skin fitted a monoexponential curve with a half-life of about 30 days. In comparison, the pharmacokinetics of total Pt in plasma showed a much faster, biexponential clearance with half-lives of 41 minutes and 5.2 days, respectively.
Conclusions: The amount of nonspecific Pt deposition in the tissues was found to depend on the total doses administered, the time interval between the courses, and the slow rate of clearance. Noninvasive measurements of tissue Pt levels may serve as a major tool in the evaluation of the induction of late cDDP complications.