Experimental research on the use of an antineoplastic drug with a bone implant.

In this experiment, we impregnated antineoplastic drugs into bone cement and polyporous ceramics in an attempt to develop a new material which could release the drug, as well as filling a postoperative bony defect. It was shown with cell culture that the drug can be delivered from these materials in vitro. Adriamycin-bone cement can release the drug over a period of 14 days in vitro and for 35 days in vivo in a goat. The times for the adriamycin-ceramic implant were respectively 16 days and 35 days. Microscopy showed only a mild foreign body macrocytic infiltration with the adriamycin-bone cement and a mild nonspecific inflammatory reaction with adriamycin-ceramic implant 9 weeks after operation. The results of treating rat sarcoma 180 with this drug-implant showed a tumour suppression rate of about 54% which is similar to that obtained with systemic chemotherapy. The implant not only fills the postoperative defect, but a high drug concentration locally is maintained, together a low systemic concentration.