Pharmacokinetic analysis of carboplatin and etoposide in a small cell lung cancer patient undergoing hemodialysis.

Cancer chemotherapy is not well established for patients on hemodialysis (HD). A 77-year-old man on HD presented with small cell lung cancer. He was treated with the combination of carboplatin and etoposide while the pharmacokinetics of the drugs were monitored. The patient showed a response with manageable toxicity and remained progression free for at least 8 months. The area under the concentration-time curve for each antitumor agent in the patient was within the therapeutic range achieved in individuals with normal renal function. Carboplatin and etoposide chemotherapy combined with HD thus allowed the drugs to achieve an appropriate area under the concentration-time curve and sufficient efficacy in a small cell lung cancer patient with chronic renal failure.