Intra-Arterial Delivery of Idarubicin in Two Patients with Glioblastoma

There is no effective treatment for recurrent glioblastoma (GB) when temozolomide-based radiochemotherapy fails. In theory, intra-arterial (IA) delivery of cytotoxic agents could achieve higher drug concentrations in tumors compared to intravenous injection. Moreover, choosing a highly lipid-soluble drug could make the most of the first-pass effect. Here, we evaluated idarubicin (IDA), a lipophilic anthracycline, in an in vitro assay using four human GB cell lines and compared it with 11 other drugs previously used for the IA treatment of brain tumors. Despite impressive in vitro cytotoxicity, IA IDA did not produce a beneficial effect in 2 patients with recurrent GB.