Ursino, Moreno, Zohar, Sarah, Lentz, Frederike, Alberti, Corinne, Friede, Tim, Stallard, Nigel, Comets, Emmanuelle, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers (CRC), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 (UPD5)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers (CRC (UMR_S_1138 / U1138)), École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Epidémiologie Clinique et Evaluation Economique Appliquées aux Populations Vulnérables (ECEVE (U1123 / UMR_S_1123)), Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-AP-HP Hôpital universitaire Robert-Debré [Paris], Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP)-Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) (AP-HP), University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Statistics and Epidemiology Unit [Coventry, UK] (Division of Health Sciences), University of Warwick [Coventry]-Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick [Coventry], Centre d'Investigation Clinique [Rennes] (CIC), Université de Rennes (UR)-Hôpital Pontchaillou-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Infection, Anti-microbiens, Modélisation, Evolution (IAME (UMR_S_1137 / U1137)), Université Paris 13 (UP13)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Seventh Framework Programme. Grant Number: FP HEALTH 2013-602144, European Project: 602144,EC:FP7:HEALTH,FP7-HEALTH-2013-INNOVATION-1,INSPIRE(2014), Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 (UPD5)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick [Coventry]-University of Warwick [Coventry], Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Hôpital Pontchaillou-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Université Paris 13 (UP13)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (USPC), Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 (UPD5)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-AP-HP Hôpital universitaire Robert-Debré [Paris]-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7), and University Medical Center Göttingen
International audience; The aim of phase I clinical trials is to obtain reliable information on safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and mechanism of action of drugs with the objective of determining the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). In most phase I studies, dose-finding and PK analysis are done separately and no attempt is made to combine them during dose allocation. In cases such as rare diseases, paediatrics, and studies in a biomarker-defined subgroup of a defined population, the available population size will limit the number of possible clinical trials that can be conducted. Combining dose-finding and PK analyses to allow better estimation of the dose-toxicity curve should then be considered. In this work, we propose, study, and compare methods to incorporate PK measures in the dose allocation process during a phase I clinical trial. These methods do this in different ways, including using PK observations as a covariate, as the dependent variable or in a hierarchical model. We conducted a large simulation study that showed that adding PK measurements as a covariate only does not improve the efficiency of dose-finding trials either in terms of the number of observed dose limiting toxicities or the probability of correct dose selection. However, incorporating PK measures does allow better estimation of the dose-toxicity curve while maintaining the performance in terms of MTD selection compared to dose-finding designs that do not incorporate PK information. In conclusion, using PK information in the dose allocation process enriches the knowledge of the dose-toxicity relationship, facilitating better dose recommendation for subsequent trials.