High-performance liquid chromatographic assay of plasma thalidomide: stabilization of specimens and determination of a tentative therapeutic range for chronic graft-versus-host disease.

Thalidomide is now widely used to treat chronic graft-versus-host disease, but its use is associated with non-teratogenic side effects such as peripheral neuropathy. To examine the value of monitoring plasma concentrations of the drug in such patients, we have developed a high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay. The method uses 0.5 mL plasma, is linear to 10 mg/L and had a detection limit of 0.2 mg/L. Thalidomide in plasma specimens was unstable at physiological pH but could be stabilized for several weeks by simple acidification. We describe a protocol for monitoring patients treated with thalidomide which permits convenient transportation and storage of specimens and report, provisionally, that plasma concentrations in the range 1-7 mg/L are therapeutically effective in chronic graft-versus-host disease without adverse side effects.