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.