Reduced toxicity of adriamycin by incorporation into ion exchange microspheres: a therapeutic study using a rat liver tumour model.

A comparison of the systemic toxicity and therapeutic efficacy of adriamycin carrying microspheres with conventional chemotherapeutic use of adriamycin was performed using a rat liver tumour model. The drug-microspheres were administered via the gastro-duodenal artery for delivery to the liver, whilst similar quantities of free adriamycin were given by systemic intravenous or regional intra-arterial routes. Significant leukopenia, thrombocytopenia and mortality were observed in the systemically treated free drug group (P less than 0.05) with a similar trend for for myelosuppression occurring in the intra-arterial free drug group. The adriamycin-microsphere group showed no toxic side-effects despite retarding tumour growth by similar amounts to the other drug modalities. This work demonstrates a large potential for the use of adriamycin carrying ion-exchange microspheres in the treatment of human malignancy.