[Fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: a privileged tool for the study of the metabolism and pharmacokinetics of fluoropyrimidines].

This review reports on the various studies using fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (19F NMR) to study the metabolism of antineoplastic or antifungal fluoropyrimidines. It is divided into 2 parts: the first examines ex vivo studies, ie, of biofluids or excised tissue samples from patients. In vivo studies, ie where the biotransformation of the drug is followed by non-invasively both in animals and in humans, are described in the second part. For ex vivo studies, 19F NMR can already be considered as complementary to the classical analytical methodologies used for drug metabolism studies. In vivo 19F NMR spectroscopic studies, especially in humans, are still at an early stage of development. Several improvements, both methodological (development of volume-selective localization techniques and quantification methods) and clinical (more rigorous definition of pathologies under study and administered treatments), are a prerequisite for useful clinical application.