The pharmacokinetics of melphalan in patients with multiple myeloma: An intravenous/oral study using a conventional dose regimen

Summary

The pharmacokinetics of melphalan have been studied after intravenous and oral dosing (10 mg) in 6 patients with multiple myeloma. After intravenous administration, mean plasma t_0.5α was 8.0±2.3 min, t_0,5β was 63.3±8.7 min, and total systemic clearance was 510.4±57.9 ml/min. After oral administration, the drug was rapidly absorbed (lagtime=18.4±3.7 min, absorption rate constant=0.0547±0.0166 min⁻¹, T_max=59.3±6.6 min), but there was considerable variation in its bioavailability (61.5−102.0% mean 78.3±6.3%). Variability in drug absorption may be responsible, at least in part, for variation in response to this drug.