Formulations for Pulmonary Administration of Anticancer Agents to Treat Lung Malignancies

• Published in: Journal of aerosol medicine Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 61 - 80
• Main Authors: CARVALHO, Thiago C, CARVALHO, Simone R, MCCONVILLE, Jason T
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Rochelle, NY Mary Ann Liebert 01.04.2011; Mary Ann Liebert, Inc
• Subjects: Administration, Inhalation; Aerodynamic properties; Aerosols; Antimitotic agents; Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Agents - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Agents - chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacokinetics; Antitumor agents; Bioavailability; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Availability; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical; Chemotherapy; Dosage and administration; Drug Compounding; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Drug therapy; Drugs; General pharmacology; Health aspects; Health technology assessment; Humans; Lung cancer; Lung carcinoma; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Malignancy; Medical sciences; Metabolism; Metastases; Pharmaceutical technology. Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Reviews; Side effects; Treatment Outcome; Tumors; Vehicles; United States; Antineoplastic agent; Lung disease; Pharmaceutical technology; Respiratory disease; Lung cancer; Lung; Intrapulmonary administration; Malignant tumor; Bronchopulmonary; Inhalation; Chemotherapy; Treatment; dosage forms; Formulation; Dosage form; Bronchus disease; Cancer
• ISSN: 1941-2711; 1941-2703; 1941-2703
• DOI: 10.1089/jamp.2009.0794

Chemotherapy plays a significant role both as primary and as supportive care for lung cancer treatment. The majority of currently available anticancer agents are administrated intravenously, causing side effects due to the systemic drug distribution. Alternatively, the bioavailability of orally administrated anticancer agents is usually compromised by the first-pass metabolism. Pulmonary administration may be a potential route for anticancer drug delivery to treat lung tumors, due to its site specific delivery, avoidance of first-pass metabolism, possibility of fewer side effects, and improved comfort for cancer patients using a needle-free delivery device. However, to attain an effective inhalational delivery, there is a requirement to design a formulation with appropriate aerodynamic properties with well-suited excipients. This review article explores work to date related to the formulations developed for pulmonary delivery of small molecule antineoplastic agents to treat primary and metastatic lung carcinomas. Ultimately, it highlights the importance of formulation design to define the role of inhalational chemotherapy.