title: Zalcitabine. Clinical pharmacokinetics and efficacy.
abstract: Zalcitabine (ddC) was the first drug to be approved under the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) accelerated drug approval process. Zalcitabine is a potent nucleoside analogue inhibitor of reverse transcriptase used in the treatment of HIV infection. It is approximately 10-fold more potent than zidovudine (AZT) on a molar basis in vitro. Zalcitabine is well absorbed orally and reaches maximal plasma concentrations within 1 to 2 hours. In humans it is mainly eliminated by renal excretion of unchanged drug, and patients with renal failure may exhibit a prolonged half-life. A variety of clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy of zalcitabine based on improved survival and decreased frequency of opportunistic infections and on a surrogate marker of HIV disease, the CD4 count, or the concentration of an antigen associated with HIV, p24. Alternating zalcitabine therapy with zidovudine therapy was associated with increased CD4+ lymphocyte counts and reduced plasma p24 antigen levels. Zalcitabine can cause peripheral neuropathy (in 17 to 31% of patients), which is dose-related and is completely reversible when the drug is discontinued. Zalcitabine will continue to play a role in chemotherapeutic approaches to HIV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Devineni
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gallo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016047:Zalcitabine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D016047:Zalcitabine