Gemcitabine release behavior of polyurethane matrixes designed for local anti-cancer drug delivery via stent

Gemcitabine is a potent anti-cancer drug, but it has a very short half-life in vivo, necessitating systematic infusion at high doses. We prepared gemcitabine-incorporated polyurethane (GIPU) films with various drug loading levels that can be used as stent coverings for local drug delivery and tumor control around the stent. The release behavior of the film depended on the drug loading level. An initial burst at 4 hours increased from 10 % to 55 % to 75 % of the loading when the Gemzar concentration in the PU film increased from 10 % to 15 % to 20 %, respectively. The amount of the drug released per day reversed the trend, however, at 2 days, and the GIPU film with a lower drug loading released a larger amount of the drug for up to 16 days. GIPU films could be used as stent coverings for the control of unresectable pancreatic or biliary malignant tumors.