Paclitaxel liposome aerosol treatment induces inhibition of pulmonary metastases in murine renal carcinoma model

The present studies were undertaken to evaluate the pulmonary pharmacokinet ics and therapeutic efficacy of paclitaxel (PTX) administered by aerosol. P TX was encapsulated into dilauroylphosphatidylcholine liposomal formulation s (PTX-DLPC). The deposition and clearance of PTX-DLPC in the lungs adminis tered by, aerosol or i.v. at comparative doses was performed, and PTX was q uantitatively determined in tissue extracts by high-performance liquid chro matography analysis. The murine renal carcinoma (Renca) pulmonary metastase s model was used to determine the therapeutic effect of drug formulation ad ministered by aerosol. PTX-DLPC aerosols were generated with the Aero-Mist jet nebulizer (cis-USA). The most effective schedule of treatment was when mice inhaled the drug for 30 min 3 days per week. There was a significant r eduction of the lung weights and reduced number of visible tumor foci on th e lung surfaces of mice treated with PTX aerosol (P < 0.004 and P < 0.01, r espectively) compared with control groups. Inhalation of PTX-DLPC also led to prolonged survival in mice inoculated with Renca cells. The results of t he present studies demonstrate the therapeutic potential of aerosol technol ogy for lung cancer treatment.