Optimizing carboplatin dosing by an improved prediction of carboplatin clearance using a CT-enhanced estimate of renal function.

AIM: Carboplatin is generally dosed based on a modified Calvert formula, in which the Cockcroft-Gault based creatinine clearance (CRCL) is used as proxy for the glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The Cockcroft-Gault formula (CG) overpredicts CRCL in patients with an aberrant body composition. The CT-enhanced estimate of RenAl FuncTion (CRAFT) was developed to compensate for this overprediction. We aimed to evaluate whether carboplatin clearance is better predicted by CRCL based on the CRAFT compared to the CG.

METHODS: Data of four previously conducted trials was used. The CRAFT was divided by serum creatinine to derive CRCL. The difference between CRAFT and CG based CRCL was assessed by population pharmacokinetic modeling. Furthermore, the difference in calculated carboplatin dose was assessed in a heterogeneous dataset.

RESULTS: In total, 108 patients were included in the analysis. Addition of the CRAFT and CG based CRCL as covariate on carboplatin clearance led, respectively, to an improved model fit with a 26 point drop in objective function value and a worsened model fit with an increase of 8 points. In 19 subjects with serum creatinine <50 μmol/L the calculated carboplatin dose was 233 mg higher using the CG.

CONCLUSION: Carboplatin clearance is better predicted by CRAFT versus CG based CRCL. In subjects with low serum creatinine, the calculated carboplatin dose using CG exceeds the dose using CRAFT, which might explain the need for dose capping when using the CG. Therefore, the CRAFT might be an alternative for dose capping while still dosing accurately.