An Evaluation of the Most Convenient and Effective Procedure for Reducing the Loading Time of Epirubicin Into the Drug-Eluting Bead M1 (DC Bead M1™)

Background and objective Drug-eluting beads (DEB) have been highly useful in the current treatment strategies for multiple and large hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) with or without systemic therapy. Recently, smaller beads have become available in Japan. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the most convenient and effective way to reduce the loading time of epirubicin into the drug-eluting beads M1 (DC Bead M1^TM; 70-150 µm). Methods To reduce the loading time of epirubicin into DC Bead M1, we used a method that involved mixing the drug and then agitating the solution using vortexing: Group A: agitated for 15 sec; Group B: agitated for 20 sec; Group C: agitated for 30 sec; and Group D: left at room temperature as the control group. After the loading of epirubicin by each method, the supernatant concentration of epirubicin was assayed at 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 60, and 120 min. Results Epirubicin loading rates for DC Bead M1 at five min were 99.7% in Group A, 98.7% in Group B, 99.6% in Group C, and 99.5% in Group D. The four groups reached an equilibrium between five and 120 min. Surprisingly, Group D (left at room temperature for five min) showed the same level of epirubicin loading rate compared to that of Groups A, B, and C at five min (<i>p</i>=0.566). Morphological analysis showed that there were no significant morphological changes for each agitated time up to 30 sec compared with that observed for the beads left at room temperature. Conclusions The most convenient and effective way for reducing the loading time of epirubicin into DC Bead M1 was observed in Group D (left at room temperature for five min).