The aim of developing oral fluorouracil (5-FU) is to provide a more convenient administration route with similar efficacy and the best achievable tolerance.
Phase 1 and 2 clinical studies with PPX showed encouraging outcomes compared to standard taxanes with reduced neutropenia and alopecia and allowed a more convenient administration schedule without the need for routine premedications.
A more convenient administration schedule/route, enhanced long-term efficacy and safety profiles, cost-effectiveness, and tolerability, are among the desirable characteristics that future agents must fulfill.
SC formulations of anti-CD20 mAbs appear to be the next step in development, which could reduce IRRs, eliminate the need for premedication with glucocorticoids, and offer a potentially more convenient administration method.
The tocilizumab-SC formulation could provide an additional, more convenient administration option and opportunity for home injection for patients with RA.
This study has presented S-1 as a new adjuvant treatment option that offers a lower drug cost and more convenient administration than UFT/LV and a lower incidence of HFS than capecitabine.
Capecitabine, an oral fluoropyrimidine that mimics continuous 5-FU infusion by generating 5-FU preferentially in the tumor tissues [ 4], has been shown to have comparable efficacy to 5-FU/folinic acid as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, with an additional benefit of convenient administration without hospitalization [ 5].
Consequently the use of third-generation cytotoxic agents or targeted therapies with a better toxicity profile and more convenient administration are attracting interest, as they could avoid the development of cancer-related symptoms by controlling tumor growth without the undesirable toxicities associated with the long-term use of cytotoxic agents.
Further, we chose oral vinorelbine for both treatment arms because of convenient administration, patient preferences, and a similar safety profile as the intravenous formulation (Vokes et al, 1994; Liu et al, 1997; Jassem et al, 2001; Marty et al, 2001; Jassem et al, 2003; O'Brien et al, 2004; Jensen et al, 2008).
Aside from applications in vaccination, the flexibility and modularity of this approach suggests its potential to serve as a platform for generalized therapeutics delivery providing both rapid and convenient administration as well as the potential for controlled and sustained systemic delivery.
