Chemotherapy for carcinomatous peritonitis and pleuritis with MMC-CH, mitomycin C adsorbed on activated carbon particles. Clinical trials.

A new drug dosage form comprising activated carbon particles adsorbing mitomycin C (MMC-CH) is designed to slowly release its components, and has affinity for the tumor surface and lymph nodes and a tendency to stay long in the local portion. The therapeutic index of MMC-CH in experimental carcinomatous peritonitis is 3.1 times as high as that of MMC-solution. In clinical experiments 81 patients with carcinomatous effusions were administered with MMC-CH (2.0-2.4 mg/kg in terms of MMC) in bolus intracavitarily. Fifty-one patients responded well to the MMC-CH therapy. Nineteen patients were alive for more than 6 months. The responders showed marked improvement in subjective symptoms, and 26 patients became dischargeable from hospital. Bone marrow suppression and peritoneal irritation were main adverse effects, but the symptoms were temporary and not so serious in spite of a high dose of MMC.