Liposome-entrapped doxorubicin (Lip-Dox) was evaluated in two phase I clinical trials in patients with hepatic malignancy. Patients with metastases from primary gastric or colonic tumours and patients with hepatoma were eligible. Lip-Dox was extremely well tolerated and acute toxicities such as nausea and vomiting were totally eliminated; no antiemetics were used even at doses of 80 mg/m2. Toxicities such as alopecia and myelosuppression were also ameliorated. There were tumor regressions and reductions in hepatomegaly in patients treated on both the weekly and 21-day studies. The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in the weekly study was 22.5 mg/m2/week and in the 21-day trial the MTD was 70 mg/m2.