This protocol is designed to evaluate the effectiveness of using ethanol (dehydrated alcohol, USP) to restore patency in central venous access devices through which paclitaxel (Taxol(*)), Bristol- Myers Oncology Div., Princeton, New Jersey, has been administered. Paclitaxel is a cancer chemotherapy drug that in its clinical formulation is solubilized in a 50:50 mixture of Cremaphor EL and dehydrated alcohol, USP. Clinical experience and a literature review have demonstrated that central venous access devices (CVAD) frequently develop an accumulation of blood and drug residues, or sludge. The sludge, in turn, contributes to CVAD malfunction-the inability to aspirate blood from or instill fluid into the catheter. Because paclitaxel is more highly soluble in ethanol than in aqueous media, this study is evaluating whether CVAD occlusions associated with paclitaxel administration can be cleared by using urokinase followed by ethanol instillation. To date, six subjects have been enrolled in the study.
