Pharmacokinetics and treatment efficacy of camptothecin nanocrystals on lung metastasis

Cancer metastasis is difficult to treat, and its outcome becomes dreadful for a patient. Lung is a major metastatic site for many types of cancers, and the need for finding effective treatment for lung metastasis cannot be overemphasized. In a previous study, we showed that camptothecin nanocrystals demonstrated greater anticancer efficacy and achieved significantly higher concentration in lungs than a conventional, solution-based formulation. In this study, we further determined the pharmacokinetics of camptothecin nanocrystals in rats and investigated treatment efficacy in mice against metastatic lung tumors. The results show that camptothecin nanocrystals were capable of eliciting greater antimetastatic efficacy and achieve a longer survival time in the murine model compared with camptothecin salt solution. The study suggests that using engineered, solid nanoparticles may be a feasible approach in the treatment of lung cancer and lung metastatic cancer.