Purpose: To determine the maximum tolerated dose, dose-limiting toxicities, and pharmacokinetic characteristics of doxorubicin encapsulated in a low temperature sensitive liposome (LTSL) when given concurrently with local hyperthermia to canine solid tumors. Experimental Design: Privately owned dogs with solid tumors (carcinomas or sarcomas) were treated. The tumors did not involve bone and were located at sites amenable to local hyperthermia. LTSL-doxorubicin was given (0.7-1.0 mg/kg i.v.) over 30 minutes during local tumor hyperthermia in a standard phase I dose escalation study. Three treatments, given 3 weeks apart, were scheduled. Toxicity was monitored for an additional month. Pharmacokinetics were evaluated during the first treatment cycle. Results: Twenty-one patients were enrolled: 18 with sarcomas and 3 with carcinomas. Grade 4 neutropenia and acute death secondary to liver failure, possibly drug related, were the doselimiting toxicities. The maximum tolerated dose was 0.93 mg/kg. Other toxicities, with the possible exception of renal damage, were consistent with those observed following free doxorubicin administration. Of the 20 dogs that received z2 doses of LTSL-doxorubicin, 12 had stable disease, and 6 had a partial response to treatment. Pharmacokinetic variables were more similar to those of free doxorubicin than the marketed liposomal product. Tumor drug concentrations at a dose of 1.0 mg/kg averaged 9.12 F 6.17 ng/mg tissue. Conclusion: LTSL-doxorubicin offers a novel approach to improving drug delivery to solid tumors. It was well tolerated and resulted in favorable response profiles in these patients. Additional evaluation in human patients is warranted.Liposome-encapsulated chemotherapy was developed to improve selectivity of drug for tumor compared with normal tissue. Despite the achievement of tumor drug levels that are up to 10-fold higher than those achieved with unencapsulated drugs, particularly when given concurrently with hyperthermia, clinical efficacy of these agents has been only modestly improved (1 -4). Decreased toxicity, in particular the cardiotoxicity seen with doxorubicin, has been the most significant benefit derived from these formulations.One potential explanation for the lack of clinical benefit from liposomal drug delivery to the tumor tissue is the dependence of cytotoxicity on the presence of free drug. Although the liposomes may accumulate preferentially in tumors, the mechanisms by which traditional liposomes release their contents are not well understood (5). The development of liposomes engineered for triggered drug release is one approach that addresses this problem directly.The development of hyperthermia-mediated drug release from liposomes was first reported in 1978 (6). These early thermosensitive liposomes typically released their contents at temperatures > 42jC. Temperatures in this range are difficult to achieve uniformly in a clinical setting. In addition, drug release was slow, requiring 30 minutes to release 40% of the contents (7). Because of...