Paclitaxel (TAXOL®) concentrations in brain tumor tissue

Background Paclitaxel (Taxol®) is a novel chemotherapeutic agent, active against a variety of tumors. It is not known whether the drug penetrates brain tumor tissue. Patients and methods Three patients with a recurrent glioma received paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) in a 3-hour i.v. infusion prior to surgery...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of oncology 1994-12, Vol.5 (10), p.951-953
Main Authors: Heimans, J. J., Vermorken, J. B., Wolbers, J. G., Eeltink, C. M., Meijer, O. W. M., Taphoorn, M. J. B., Beijnen, J. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Antineoplastic agents
Biological and medical sciences
Blood-Brain Barrier
Brain - metabolism
Brain Neoplasms - blood
Brain Neoplasms - cerebrospinal fluid
Brain Neoplasms - metabolism
brain tumor
Chemotherapy
glioma
Glioma - blood
Glioma - cerebrospinal fluid
Glioma - metabolism
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
paclitaxel
Paclitaxel - pharmacokinetics
Pharmacology. Drug treatments
Pilot Projects
tissue concentrations
Tissue Distribution
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Summary:Background Paclitaxel (Taxol®) is a novel chemotherapeutic agent, active against a variety of tumors. It is not known whether the drug penetrates brain tumor tissue. Patients and methods Three patients with a recurrent glioma received paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) in a 3-hour i.v. infusion prior to surgery. Paclitaxel concentrations were measured in the tumor tissue, cerebrospinal fluid, cyst fluid, plasma and, in one patient, normal brain tissue. Results Tumor tissue concentrations were in the thera- peutic range in all three patients. Brain tissue concentration, however, was below the detection limit of the trial. Conclusions These findings suggest that paclitaxel may have a place in brain tumor therapy. The low concentration in normal brain tissue, as observed in one patient, may suggest, however, that the drug does not cross the intact blood-brain barrier.
ISSN:0923-7534
1569-8041
DOI:10.1093/oxfordjournals.annonc.a058736