Research Abstract
The principal focus of my research involves bioanalytical method development and elucidating the pharmacokinetic behavior and metabolism of investigational chemotherapeutic agents during phase I/II clinical trials in cancer patients. The activity of an anticancer drug ultimately depends on the ability of the agent itself, or an active metabolite derived from it, to migrate from the administration site through the body to the tumor. Similarly, toxicities result from the exposure of normal tissues to the drug. These pharmacological effects can generally be related to the time course of the concentration of drug in blood or plasma. Accordingly, serial measurements of the plasma concentration of a drug following its administration has become an integral component of phase I clinical studies of investigational anticancer agents. This information provides the basis for establishing the pharmacokinetic behavior of a drug, the objective of which is to mathematically describe the processes involving drug absorption, distribution, and elimination from the body. The acquisition of pharmacokinetic data during the phase I evaluation of an anticancer agent in is a critical element in developing a rational scheme for the route, dose and frequency of drug administration for optimal therapeutic benefit.