Microporous hydrospheres of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) impregnated with irinotecan with potential antineoplastic activity. In transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), irinotecan-eluting beads are administered into blood vessels that feed the tumor, occluding tumor blood vessels and inducing ischemic tumor necrosis while simultaneously delivering high-dose chemotherapy locally. Irinotecan, a semisynthetic derivative of camptothecin, inhibits topoisomerase I activity by stabilizing the cleavable complex between topoisomerase I and DNA, resulting in DNA breaks that inhibit DNA replication and trigger apoptotic cell death.