Velafermin improves gastrointestinal mucositis following irinotecan treatment in tumor-bearing DA rats

Mucositis is a common, costly and unpleasant side effect of cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Velafermin (FGF-20) has shown the potential to reduce these side effects. Irinotecan is a chemotherapeutic agent which is commonly used in solid tumors, and causes GI mucositis manifested by severe diarrhoea. Therefore the primary aim of this study was to investigate whether velafermin reduces the GI mucositis induced by irino tecan. The secondary aim was to test varying schedules of administration of velafermin. Groups of tumor-bearing DA rats (6 per group) were treated with varying doses (4, 8 or 16 mg/kg) of velafermin intraperitoneally either prior to, prior to and during, or after chemotherapy treatment. Rats received a single dose of 200 mg/kg irinotecan intraperitoneally. Rats were monitored closely for the incidence and severity of diarrhoea and mortality before being killed 192 h following treatment. Mortality, diarrhoea and histopathology were assessed throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Severe or moderate diarrhoea occurred in approximately 40% of rats treated with irinotecan alone. This was associated with a 50% mortality rate 96 h following chemotherapy. Velafermin administered at 16 mg/kg prior to irinotecan improved gastrointestinal mucositis as measured by reduced diarrhoea and mortality following irinotecan chemotherapy in the DA rat. Rats that received velafermin prior to, or prior to and during irinotecan treatment did develop severe or moderate diarrhoea, however it occurred later, in fewer rats and was not associated with mortality. Other dosing regimens were not as effective. This has important implications for the use of velafermin in GI mucositis in humans, and should be further studied.