title: Long-term stability of 5-fluorouracil and folinic acid admixtures.
abstract: 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and d,1-folinic acid (FA) are used in association to treat a wide variety of malignancies. The stability and the compatibility of 5-FU and FA in combination in intravenous admixtures were studied under various storage conditions and with drug concentrations matching their clinical use (0.9% sodium chloride, 5% dextrose, protected from light or not). 5-FU and FA concentrations (mg/ml) were 6.5 or 50 and 4.0 or 30.8, respectively. Successive aliquots of the drugs mixtures were withdrawn during 60 h from 500 ml glass bottles and 500 ml polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bags (at room temperature) and during 120 h from cassettes (at 32 degrees C). Drug concentrations were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. For all conditions tested, the changes in 5-FU and FA relative to the initial concentrations remained within the assay reproducibility (10%). In complement, infrared Fourier transformation spectrophotometry has not shown a significant fixation of FA or 5-FU on the PVC bags, in all tested conditions. Under the conditions examined above 5-FU and FA can be mixed in the same container for their use in cancer chemotherapy. This can have practical consequences by simplifying the widely used treatment protocols associating 5-FU and FA.
authors.affiliation: Centre Antoine-Lacassagne, Laboratoire d'Oncopharmacologie, Nice, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Milano
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Etienne
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cassuto-Viguier
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Renée
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bousselet
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guillot
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lecompte
mesh_terms: D004338:Drug Combinations; D004355:Drug Stability; D004356:Drug Storage; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000737:chemistry*; D005898:Glass; D002955:Leucovorin / Q000737:chemistry*; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004338:Drug Combinations; D011143:Polyvinyl Chloride; D002955:Leucovorin; D005472:Fluorouracil