Objective: To assess the feasibility of delivering liposomal adriamycin (lipo-ADM) to the regional lymph nodes via intralymphatic infusion in a rabbits model.
Methods: The plasma and tissue ADM levels were measured by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at 0.5 hour, 1 hour, 6 hours, 12 hours, 1 day, 7 days, 14 days, 28 days.
Results: The maximum ADM level (Cmax) in the lymph nodes of lipo-ADM was 91.23 micrograms/g, which was 2 times higher than that of the free-ADM group. The area under the ADM concentrations-time curve (AUC) of the regional lymph nodes of lipo-ADM and free-ADM was 138.34 micrograms/day x g-1, 31.86 micrograms/day x g-1 respectively (P < 0.01). The pathological features showed that the lipo-ADM group had more microabscess, necrosis and fibrosis in the lymph nodes than those of the free-ADM group. The histological changes of heart were absent or slight in the lipo-ADM group.
Conclusions: lipo-ADM has a high affinity for lymphatic tissue. Intralymphatic infusion of lipo-ADM may be useful for the treatment of lymphnode metastasis in ovarian cancer.