Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL)

Indication for Asparaginase

Population group: Suitable for both men and women, only children (1 year - 12 years old) , adolescents (12 years - 18 years old) , adults (18 years old or older)

Asparaginase is indicated as a component of antineoplastic combination therapy for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in paediatric patients from birth to 18 years and adults.

For this indication, competent medicine agencies globally authorize below treatments:

5000 U/m² every third day

Route of admnistration

Intravenous

Defined daily dose

5,000 - 5,000 [iU] per m² of body surface area (BSA)

Dosage regimen

From 5,000 To 5,000 [iU] per m² of body surface area (BSA) once every 3 day(s)

Detailed description

Asparaginase is usually employed as part of combination chemotherapy protocols with other antineoplastic agents.

Adults and children older than 1 year

The recommended intravenous dose of asparaginase is 5,000 units per square metre (U/m²) body surface area (BSA) given every third day.

Treatment may be monitored based on the trough serum asparaginase activity measured three days after administration of asparaginase. If asparaginase activity values fail to reach target levels, a switch to a different asparaginase preparation could be considered.

Data on efficacy and safety of asparaginase in adults are limited.

Data on efficacy and safety of asparaginase in the post-induction treatment phases are very limited.

Dosage considerations

The diluted solution of asparaginase may be infused over 0.5 to 2 hours.

Active ingredient

Asparaginase hydrolyses asparagine to aspartic acid and ammonia. In contrast to normal cells, lymphoblastic tumour cells have a very limited capacity for synthesising asparagine because of a significantly reduced expression of asparagine synthetase. Therefore, they require asparagine which diffuses from the extracellular environment. As a result of asparaginase-induced asparagine depletion in serum, protein synthesis in lymphoblastic tumour cells is disturbed while sparing most normal cells.

Read more about Asparaginase

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