Comparative Pharmacology
Head-to-head clinical analysis: ARRANON versus DEPOCYT.
Peer-Reviewed Evidence
Head-to-head clinical analysis: ARRANON versus DEPOCYT.
ARRANON vs DEPOCYT
Comparing the clinical profiles, pharmacokinetic behaviors, and safety indices of these two therapeutic agents.
Purine nucleoside analog; after intracellular phosphorylation to ara-GTP, it incorporates into DNA, inhibits DNA synthesis, and induces apoptosis in T-cell progenitors.
Cytarabine is a nucleoside analog that inhibits DNA polymerase, leading to termination of DNA chain elongation and cell death in the S phase of the cell cycle.
2600 mg/m2 intravenously over 2 hours on days 1, 3, and 5, repeated every 28 days.
50 mg intrathecally via lumbar puncture or intraventricularly via Ommaya reservoir on days 1, 15, 29, 43, 57, 71, 85, and 99 for induction; followed by consolidation and maintenance doses. Administer with dexamethasone 4 mg PO/IV twice daily for 5 days starting on the day of DepoCyt injection.
None Documented
None Documented
Terminal elimination half-life of nelarabine is approximately 30 minutes; the active metabolite ara-G has a terminal half-life of approximately 20-24 hours. Clinically, this supports daily dosing in cycles.
After intrathecal administration, the terminal half-life of cytarabine in CSF is 2.5-4.5 hours (mean 3.5 hours) due to slow clearance from CSF; systemic half-life is 10-15 minutes due to rapid deamination.
Nelarabine is extensively metabolized to ara-G; elimination is primarily renal: ~27% as parent drug and 30-50% as ara-G in urine. Fecal excretion accounts for <5% of administered dose.
Renal excretion of cytarabine metabolites accounts for >70% of elimination; unchanged cytarabine excretion is minimal (<10%). Biliary/fecal excretion is negligible (<5%).
Category C
Category C
Antineoplastic
Antineoplastic