Laser-assisted delivery enhances topical uptake of the anticancer agent cisplatin

AbstractSystemic chemotherapy with the anticancer agent cisplatin is approved for advanced non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), but topical treatment is limited by insufficient cutaneous penetration. We studied the impact of ablative fractional laser (AFL) exposure on topical cisplatin’s pharmacokinetics and biodistribution in skin, using microscopic ablation zones reaching the mid- (MAZ-MD; 620 μm depth) and deep dermis (MAZ-DD; 912 μm depth) (λ = 10,600 nm, 196 MAZ/cm2). Assessed in an in vitro Franz cell model after 0.5-, 4-, 24 h topical exposure (n = 8), cisplatin delivery was greatly accelerated by AFL, shown by quantitative- and imaging-based inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). After 30 minutes, cisplatin concentrations were 91.5, 90.8 and 37.8 μg/cm3 in specific 100-, 500, and 1500 μm skin layers respectively, contrasting to 8.08, 3.12, 0.64 μg/cm3 in non-laser-exposed control skin (p < .001; control vs MAZ-MD). Supported by element bioimaging, the greatest relative increases occurr...