[A device for prolonged releasing of anticancer drug--bleomycin: Second report]

The authors have developed a new dosage-form using a water soluble anticancer drug, Bleomycin (BLM), which had prolonged releasing properties exceeding for 15 days in vivo for intracranial administration. Basic experiments using these tablets have been previously reported. This study evaluates the anti-cancer effect of the tablets and its clinical application. For the evaluation of the anti-cancer effect, glioma cells were transplanted into the peritoneal cavity of Wister rats. The rats were divided into 4 main groups and treated by as follows: 1) BLM tablets (1 mg.P) implantation in the peritoneal cavity, 2) Placebo implantation, 3) Bleomycin solution (total 1 mg. P) injection and 4) physiological saline solution injection (The control). The group treated with BLM tablets showed the best results. Clinical application of BLM tablets was performed in 6 patients of craniopharyngioma. During operation, the tablets were placed into tumor cavity by alon-alpha. In one case, recurrence was greatly prolonged. This tablet is considered to usable for the treatment of cancer in not only the field of neurosurgery but also in other fields.