Paclitaxel-Eluting PTCA-Balloon in Combination With the CoroflexTM Blue Stent vs the Sirolimus Coated CypherTM Stent in the Treatment of Advanced Coronary Artery Disease

The incidence of in-stent restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention varies between 5 and 35% after bare metal stenting and is as high as 19% after the implantation of a drug-eluting stent in patients at moderate risk. Restenosis due to neointimal hyperplasia is a slow process, suggesting that therapeutic local drug administration would need to be prolonged to be beneficial. Stent-based local drug delivery provides sustained drug release using special release technologies like polymer coating. However, cell culture experiments indicate that even brief contact between vascular smooth muscle cells and lipophilic taxane compounds can inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation for a long period. In experiments in swine, intracoronary delivery of paclitaxel by contrast media or by a drug-coated balloon catheter was found to result in vascular tissue concentrations capable of producing antiproliferative effects, thus leading to a significant reduction in neointimal proliferation. In these animal studies, the most pronounced reduction of neointimal formation was seen with paclitaxel-coated balloon catheters.