Performance of the analytical assays of paclitaxel, docetaxel, and cyclosporin A in a routine hospital laboratory setting

The taxanes paclitaxel and docetaxel are important anticancer agents. To optimize therapy of these drugs, many studies have been performed by us with pharmacokinetic monitoring of the compounds. The numerous determinations of paclitaxel and docetaxel in our laboratory enabled us to monitor performance of the bioanalytical assays over a prolonged period of time. In addition, we analyzed the performance of the bioanalytical assay of cyclosporin A, a compound co-administered to enhance absorption of orally administered paclitaxel and docetaxel. Here, we report our experience with these assays over the past four years. Paclitaxel and docetaxel were analyzed by validated high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assays developed at our Institute. Cyclosporin A was analyzed with use of a specific fluorescence polarization immunoassay (s-FPIA) developed and validated by Abbott Laboratories. For acceptance of an analytical run, we used the criteria for calibration and quality control samples issued by the con...