Reducing toxicity of cisplatin in cancer chemotherapy by extracorporeal removal of excess cisplatin

Cisplatin and its derivatives are today among the most frequently used agents for treatment of malignancies, the dose, however, is limited by side effects. When an organ or extremity with tumor has a single, well defined artery, cisplatin can be delivered into the tumor, and cisplatin leaving the tumor through the venous drainage can be removed before it empties into the systemic circulation. We developed a hollow fiber device with an immobilized platinum chelator for extracorporeal removal of cisplatin, without the chelator entering the blood. When blood from melanoma patients, obtained during cisplatin infusion, was circulated through the device, 80% of the cisplatin was removed. In experiments using dogs cisplatin (100 mg/m²) was infused into the femoral vein, thus restricting cisplatin to the area to be treated. This method allows for applying high cisplatin doses locally, while reducing systemic side effects.