ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2026
Sequential and synergistic delivery of lipiodol and drug-eluting microspheres circumvents incompatibility to enhance targeted chemoembolization.
Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Conventional (cTACE) and drug-eluting bead transarterial chemoembolization (D-TACE) are limited by physicochemical incompatibility when lipiodol and microspheres are mixed. This study evaluated a sequential co-delivery strategy (M-TACE) designed to synergize these agents in a rabbit VX2 liver tumor model. Methods: Animals were randomized into control, cTACE, D-TACE, and M-TACE (epirubicin-lipiodol emulsion followed by epirubicin-loaded microspheres) groups. Primary outcomes included pharmacokinetics, tumor necrosis, and lipiodol distribution. Results: The cTACE group showed a higher systemic peak epirubicin concentration (C ∼ max∼: 276.08 ± 41.74 ng/mL) than D-TACE (79.37 ± 16.26 ng/mL) and M-TACE (92.13 ± 12.68 ng/mL) (p < 0.001), while total 24-h exposure (AUC0-24 h) was comparable. M-TACE achieved intratumoral drug concentrations equivalent to D-TACE at day 1 and 14, confirming unimpaired microsphere elution. M-TACE induced superior tumor necrosis (95.4% ± 6.7%) versus cTACE (85.1% ± 6.2%) and D-TACE (88.6% ± 8.4%) (p < 0.001), with less peritumoral liver necrosis than D-TACE (50.9% ± 6.0% vs. 61.7% ± 9.0%, p = 0.039). M-TACE also yielded more focal lipiodol deposition (72.2% ± 7.4% tumor coverage) with reduced parenchymal extravasation versus cTACE (92.9% ± 7.8%; p < 0.001). Conclusion: The sequential M-TACE strategy successfully decouples lipiodol and microsphere delivery, circumvents the practical consequences of incompatibility while harnessing synergistic advantages-lipiodol's capillary blockade and microspheres' sustained drug release-resulting in enhanced efficacy and favorable local safety profile.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.