A fixed dose regimen for tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) is postulated to be responsible for variable safety outcomes in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The objective of this study was to explore an optimal dosing regimen for a TKI, radotinib, to improve its safety profile. Clinical data were obtained from a Phase 2 study of fixed-dose radotinib in 77 Asian patients with CML. The magnitude of radotinib dose adjusted for patient's body weight (Dose/BW) and the probability of dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) demonstrated a positive association (Logit[P] = 0.86*[Dose/BW]-4.45, p = 0.001). There was a significant difference in the Kaplan-Meier curves for time to first DLT between the patient subgroups of Dose/BW <6 and ≥6 mg/kg (259 versus 83 days). Consequently, a two-tier weight-based dosing regimen may improve the safety of radotinib: 300 mg or 400 mg twice daily for patients weighing ≤65 or >65 kg, respectively.
Keywords: Radotinib; chronic myelogenous leukemia; dose optimization; dose-response relationship; tyrosine kinase inhibitor; weight-based dosing.