Intravesical instillation of doxorubicin hydrochloride and its incorporation into bladder tumors.

We studied single dose intravesical doxorubicin instillation (50 mg. dissolved in 30 ml. saline) in 29 patients with bladder tumor and 2 with dysplasia of the bladder. The results demonstrated that 1) the levels of doxorubicin hydrochloride in extracts of tumors were significantly higher than those of histologically normal bladder tissues in all regions examined except the dome, 2) the incorporation concentration of the drug into the smallest tumor was 3-fold greater than that of larger tumors, 3) tissue concentration of the drug in histologically normal bladder tissues was 2.4-fold greater in patients with recurrent than with primary bladder tumors, and 4) a high concentration of the agent was noted in unifocal, multifocal and primary tumors classified as papillary noninvasive or invasive transitional cell carcinoma. These findings indicate that intravesical installation of doxorubicin hydrochloride can be incorporated to a high degree by relatively small papillary noninvasive or invasive transitional cell carcinoma located in almost all regions except the bladder dome.