Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39662226›Full record

SynthesisESMO open2024

Sex differences in the pharmacokinetics of anticancer drugs: a systematic review.

J Delahousse, A D Wagner, S Borchmann, A A Adjei, J Haanen, F Burgers, A Letsch, A Quaas, S Oertelt-Prigione, B C Özdemir and 4 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in ESMO open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
23citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Review
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  13. Beyond XX and XY, Understanding Sex Differences in Leukemia.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Sex and gender differences in cancer pathogenesis and pharmacology.Clinical & translational oncology : official publication of the Federation of Spanish Oncology Societies and of the National Cancer Institute of Mexico · 2025
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

J DelahousseDepartment of Pharmacology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
A D WagnerDepartment of Oncology, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: Dorothea.wagner@chuv.ch.
S BorchmannDepartment I of Internal Medicine, Center for Integrated Oncology Aachen Bonn Cologne Duesseldorf, University of Cologne, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Cancer Center Cologne Essen (CCCE), Cologne, Germany; German Hodgkin Study Group, Cologne, Germany.
A A AdjeiTaussig Cancer Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, USA.
J HaanenDivision of Medical Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Department of Medical Oncology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands; Melanoma Clinic, Lausanne University Hospital and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
F BurgersDivision of Medical Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
A LetschDepartment of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospital Schleswig Holstein/University Cancer Center Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
A QuaasInstitute of Pathology, University Hospital Cologne, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
S Oertelt-PrigioneGender Unit, Department of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands; AG10 Sex- and Gender-Sensitive Medicine, Medical Faculty OWL, University of Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
B C ÖzdemirDepartment of Medical Oncology, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
R H A VerhoevenDepartment of Research & Development, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), Utrecht, Netherlands; Department of Medical Oncology, Amsterdam UMC location University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Cancer Center Amsterdam, Cancer Treatment and Quality of Life, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
O Della PasquaClinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics Group, University College London, London, UK.
A PaciDepartment of Pharmacology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France; Pharmacokinetics Department, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
O MirDepartment of Pharmacology, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn addition to the effect of body weight, a patient's sex can influence the pharmacokinetics (PK) of anticancer agents, and thereby their activity and safety. The magnitude and relevance of sex differences, however, are currently unclear.

methodsWe carried out a systematic review of published studies (clinical, n ≥ 10) on Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved (on 31 January 2022) anticancer drugs (excluding hormonal agents), aiming to identify significant PK differences between male and female patients. A difference of ≥20% on PK parameters (clearance or trough concentration) was considered significant. The methodological quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health study quality assessment tool. This systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA2020 guidelines and a previously published protocol, which was registered in the PROSPERO database (number 291008).

resultsData on 99 anticancer agents (for a total of 1643 abstracts and European Medicines Agency/FDA documents) were screened. The final dataset included 112 articles and 8 European Medicines Agency/FDA documents. The median size of a study cohort was 445 patients (range: 12-6468 patients). Significant PK differences (>+20% in clearance or apparent clearance in women) were identified for 14 drugs, and potentially significant PK differences (due to conflicting reports) for another 8 drugs. None of the studies included sex-based summaries to assess whether the observed differences in PK may impact the efficacy or safety profile.

conclusionsSignificant sex differences in PK have been identified including commonly used drugs of different classes, such as 5-fluorouracil, doxorubicin, paclitaxel, regorafenib, atezolizumab, and temozolomide. The risk-benefit ratio for such anticancer drugs is likely to be improved by the development of sex-specific dosing strategies. Additional sex-based PK-pharmacodynamic analyses are recommended during dose optimisation and are to be conducted in line with the FDA Project Optimus guidance. They should be reported even if no association between the patients' sex and the activity and/or toxicity of an anticancer drug has been identified.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic AgentsFemaleHumansMaleNeoplasmsSex CharacteristicsSex FactorsAntineoplastic Agentsantineoplastic agentsgender medicinepharmacokineticspopulation pharmacokineticssex

Identifiers

PMID39662226
PMCPMC11697095

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.