Predicting Hepatotoxicity in Patients Receiving T-DM1 Treatment using ALT Blood Concentrations

Author

Nick FidalgoFollow
Chris GatesmanFollow
Phillip LeeFollow
Brett PetersFollow
Samantha SandwickFollow
Alex ShetlerFollow

Abstract

During cancer treatments, it is imperative to keep a close eye on the side effects of whatever drug you are using to target the infected cells. For example, many drugs will target cancerous cells by attaching themselves onto different receptors on the membranes of the cells. However, these treatments are not always exact in affecting only the cancerous cells. One of the major side effects of these drugs is that different types of non-cancerous cells are accidentally killed during the process of cancer treatments when the drug latches onto the similar receptors of those cells. For example, when the antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is administered into the bloodstream it will accidentally target and kill liver cells in the patient’s body due to the liver cells’ CKAP5 receptors attaching to T-DM1 molecules. When these healthy liver cells die, they release alanine aminotransferase (ALT) as well as aspartate aminotransferase (AST). There is a silver lining to this, however, as these enzymes can be used to track liver cell death. So that raises the question: can we quantify the amount of liver cell damage from T-DM1 treatment by studying the relationship between the dosage of T-DM1 and the concentration of ALT in the bloodstream? We chose to focus on ALT rather than AST due to ALT primarily being released by liver cells, whereas AST can be released by the liver, brain, lungs, and other organs in the body [1]. Thus by modeling the concentration of ALT released by specific dosages of T-DM1, the patients’ recorded ALT levels can be referenced to find an optimal dosage to lower ALT levels while still being considered an efficient treatment.

Publication Date

5-2022

Document Type

Senior Project

Student Type

Undergraduate

Department, Program, or Center

School of Mathematical Sciences (COS)

Advisor

Michael Cromer

Advisor/Committee Member

Kara L. Maki

Recommended Citation

Fidalgo, Nick; Gatesman, Chris; Lee, Phillip; Peters, Brett; Sandwick, Samantha; and Shetler, Alex, "Predicting Hepatotoxicity in Patients Receiving T-DM1 Treatment using ALT Blood Concentrations" (2022). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from
https://repository.rit.edu/theses/11206

Campus

RIT – Main Campus