Efficacy of high-dose oral leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil in advanced colorectal carcinoma. Plasma and tissue pharmacokinetics.

Thirty-one evaluable patients with advanced colorectal cancer were treated with oral leucovorin (LV) 500 mg/m2, administered hourly in four divided doses weekly for 6 weeks. Six patients received intravenous 5-FU at 450 mg/m2 and the remainder at 600 mg/m2 weekly for 6 weeks. This schedule was repeated after a 2-week rest period without medication.

Bioavailability of high-dose oral leucovorin.

Fifteen adult subjects comprised the study group; 2 were colon cancer patients. Total leucovorin (citrovorum factor; CF) doses of 200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg were equally subdivided and administered at 0, 1, 2, and 3 hours. Three of the subjects were fasting and the other 12 were not.

Platelet adherence to collagen: role of plasma, ADP, and divalent cations.

The effect of varying methods of platelet preparation and the role of ADP and divalent cations in supporting platelet adherence to collagen and the release of 14C-serotonin were assessed by affinity chromatography on collagen/Sepharose to define physiological conditions for this interaction. Platelets were separated by centrifugation or gel filtration from blood anticoagulated with EDTA or citrate and suspended in native plasma or buffer. After labelling with 51Cr or 14C-serotonin, they were passed though columns of collagen covalently linked to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose.