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Because the brainstem has little functional redundancy, diffuse lesions have been regarded as inoperable. To determine whether local drug therapy can prolong survival in a rodent model of a tumor in such eloquent tissue, lethal doses of F98 and 9L tumor cells were injected into the brainstems of Fischer 344 rats. Five days after inoculations, 0.5 mg/ml solutions of carboplatin were infused at 1 microl/h for 7 days. Compared to control groups that survived 13-17 days with F98 tumors and 22-23 days with 9L tumors, animals locally infused with 0.1 mg of carboplatin survived 27-30 days (Prob > Chi Sq = 0.0003), and 32 days (Prob > Chi Sq = 0.01), respectively. Measurements of tissue platinum levels at autopsy suggested that infusions distributed pharmacologically relevant levels of carboplatin through a volume of tissue at least 0.5 cm in diameter. The results suggest that chronic low-flow infusions provide a promising approach to therapy for CNS lesions in tissues considered to be inoperable.