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Peter W. Heald, MD; Maritza I. Perez, MD; Francis P. Gasparro, PhD
Department of Dermatology Yale University School of Medicine 500 LCI, 333 Cedar St New Haven, CT 06510

Arch Dermatol. 1990;126(10):1369.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Extracorporeal photochemotherapy (photopheresis) has been approved for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. During the clinical trial that documented the effectiveness of this therapy,¹ patients were treated with a minimum of 0.6 mg/kg crystalline 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP). Proper dosing was confirmed by serum levels obtained at 2 hours, demonstrating a level of 100 ng/mL or greater.

Now that a liquid formulation of 8-MOP is available (Oxsoralen-ULTRA, Elder Pharmaceuticals), we have found dosing to be more reliable and more convenient when followed as outlined in this communiqué.

Rather than measuring serum levels, we have converted to measuring 8-MOP levels in the treatment bag of photopheresis. The treatment bag contains a 240-mL buffy coat, 200 mL of psoralen-rich plasma, and 200 mL of saline. The rationale is that the serum level represents a single point in time, whereas the treatment bag contains serum collected over several pheresis cycles. Values . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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