LC-MS/MS analysis of gemcitabine and its metabolites in primary murine pancreatic tumors and liver metastases

Abstract

Introduction: Impaired drug delivery is a common feature in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) that may determine clinical response in patients. However, drug uptake and clearance are highly variable between tumours. For individualized treatment strategies it may be important to analyse drug delivery of chemotherapeutic agents from small tissue biopsies to identify this variability between tumours. To investigate whether liver metastases may serve as a surrogate tissue for drug delivery and metabolism, we analysed gemcitabine metabolites, stromal composition, and vascular density in primary pancreatic tumours and liver metastases in a genetically engineered mouse model.