Intracavitary administration: pharmacokinetic advantages of macromolecular anticancer agents against peritoneal and pleural carcinomatoses.

BACKGROUND

Pleural and peritoneal carcinomatoses are quite difficult to control in patients with advanced cancer. We have devised a suitable formulation of anticancer agents to be injected by the intracavitary route.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The pharmacokinetics of macromolecular anticancer agent, copoly(styrene/maleic acid)-conjugated neocarzinostatin (smancs) and radiolabeled albumin were studied after intraperitoneal administration to ascitic tumor-bearing rats and mice, and were compared with the pharmacokinetics of other low-molecular-weight anticancer agents, mitomycin C (MMC) and doxorubicin (DOX).

RESULTS

Pharmacokinetic analyses indicated that smancs showed a much higher drug concentration for a longer time in the peritoneal cavity, and a much lower drug concentration in the blood circulation than did MMC or DOX. The cavity/blood ratios of the area under the concentration curve (AUC), of smancs, bovine serum albumin (BSA), DOX, and MMC were 9.69, 7.06, 1.38, 1.15, respectively.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that macromolecular agents are cleared more slowly from the cavitary compartment and remain there at a high concentration while the blood concentration remains low.