Comparison of the effects of asparaginase administered subcutaneously versus intramuscularly for treatment of multicentric lymphoma in dogs receiving doxorubicin
Valerius, K.D.; Ogilvie, G.K.; Fettman, M.J.; Walton, J.A.; Richardson, K.; Powers, B.E.; McNiel, E.A.; Rogers, Q.R.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 214(3): 353-356
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-1488 PMID: 10023395 Document Number: 501950
The efficacy and safety of asparaginase injected s.c. and i.m. for treatment of multicentric lymphoma in were compared in 49 dogs receiving doxorubicin. Dogs were treated with doxorubicin every 3 weeks, for a total of 5 treatments, and were given 3 weekly treatments of asparaginase, s.c. (23 dogs) or i.m.(26). Mean plasma asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamine, and glutamic acid concentrations were measured by high performance liquid chromatography before and during treatment with asparaginase (10 000 U/msuperscript 2 of body surface area, once a week for 3 weeks). Variables evaluated included time to response to chemotherapy, remission and survival times, and clinical and serum biochemical indicators of toxicoses. Using the World Health Organization's staging system for lymphoma, 30 dogs were in clinical stage III and 19 were in clinical stage IV. One week after asparaginase treatment, plasma asparagine concentrations were low and plasma aspartic acid, glutamine, and glutamic acid concentrations were high. There were no differences in plasma amino acid between s.c. and i.m. groups. For dogs in clinical stage IV, i.m. injection of asparaginase significantly decreased the number of days to complete remission, compared with s.c. administration (8 vs 17 days, respectively). For dogs in clinical stage III, i.m. administration favourably increased the duration of first remission (191 vs 103 days) and survival time (289 vs 209 days). Overall, dogs treated i.m. had a faster response to chemotherapy (9 vs 15 days), a longer remission (191 vs 109 days), and a longer survival time (286 vs 198 days), compared with all dogs treated s.c. Asparaginase toxicoses were not observed regardless of the route of administration. It was concluded that for dogs with multicentric lymphoma that are receiving doxorubicin, i.m. treatment with asparaginase is more effective than s.c. treatment.