An immuno-polymerase chain reaction (IPCR) assay is used to evaluate the kinetic behaviour of the novel anti-
cancer drug Aviscumine in plasma samples taken from 41 patients during a 3-year clinical trial. The ultrasensitive IPCR assay employed the amplification of a detection-antibody linked
marker-DNA and an internal competitor
DNA for standardization, thus enabling the detection of the
antigen in concentrations far below the detection limit of conventional
enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA). The quantification of
Aviscumine was carried out using external calibration curves obtained from individual patient plasma samples, collected previous to the administration of
Aviscumine, which were spiked with known amounts of the reference substance
Aviscumine. Additional controls were measured containing standardized human serum spiked with
Aviscumine to assure the continuous general reproducibility of the assay as well as to estimate differences between individual patients. Average recovery was found to be 95+/-19% and the average deviation in precision of the assay was determined to be 9+/-5%. Data for the quantification of
Aviscumine were obtained from all patient samples investigated with the exception of a single patient. The collected data provided the basis for the valid routine quantification of patient samples for the calculation of the pharmacokinetic behaviour of
Aviscumine in patient plasma.