Comparison of oral and transdermal administration of rasagiline mesylate on human melanoma tumor growth in vivo

Background/Aims: Transdermal patch administration results in a locally high concentration of drug that induce local toxicity, including tumorogenicity. As a worst-case scenario for consequences of repeated application on neoplastic growth, the melanin-binding drug, rasagiline, was used in a transdermal formulation applied directly to a human-derived melanoma to determine the effects on tumor growth.Materials and Methods: Rasagiline mesylate was administered either orally or transdermally to athymic mice implanted with human melanoma (SKMEL28) to determine the effects on tumor growth and survival. Over a 21-day period, animals were administered daily oral gavage (15 mg/kg) or one or two rasagiline mesylate transdermal patches every 3 days. After the last dose administration, blood samples were collected to confirm drug exposure.Results: All animals from the untreated, vehicle and rasagiline groups survived to the end of the study; however, 7 out of the 10 cisplatin-treated animals died before the end of th...